Forced To Be Wed
by pinkwildcat94
Summary: According to the Bolton tradition, Troy must find a girlfriend or wife before he reach the age of 30. But who will he get to become his fake girlfriend? And will his little lie soon become a big mistake? PLEASE R&R! TRAILER INSIDE! COMPLETED.
1. Forced To Be Wed Trailer

**_I know i have been MIA but i'm back with a new story!_**

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**Forced To Be Wed**

**The Bolton family has a big family tradition which Troy has no choice but to follow,**

"No Bolton man or woman must be single when he or she has reached his or hers mid twenties."

"That means that the clock is ticking, Troy. You must find someone you love and to spend your whole life with or you will be forced into an arranged marriage."

---

"Who am I going to find that will agree to become my pretend girlfriend for the sake of avoiding an arranged marriage?"

**Gabriella is an aspiring wedding dress designer, who is waiting for her big break to debut her line,**

"The studio will cost you $15,000"

"How are you going to get the money, Gabs? Your dad will never give you that much just for a studio."

"I would have to work for it I guess. I'm sure my dad won't mind me working at his company right?"

**One day, they meet…**

"I found your book the other day and wanted to give it back to you."

"Thank you so much! Is there anything I can repay you?"

"Now that you mention it…"

**Troy brings Gabriella to meet his family and they seemed to like her a lot,**

"She's a real catch."

"I know. Maybe it's time."

---

"We think that you should marry her."

"What?!"

**How will he tell her?**

"My family expects me to propose to you with the Bolton ring."

"Well that's definitely not going to happen. How are you going to tell them?"

"I guess I have no choice. Gabriella, will you marry me?"

**Will she play along with him without getting distracted by the extravagant his family offers her?**

"We will be honoured to buy your very own designer studio. It'll be like an early birthday present."

**Or will she just walk away from the craziness?**

"Are you planning to have kids soon? If so, how many do you think you'll have?"

_Gabriella spills out her drink._

"We're haven't gone that far, mom."

**Coming soon to fanfiction!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	2. The Things That You Do To Avoid It

**_Before you start, i would like to thank all those who read the trailer, reviewed, adding it at your Story Alert and to your favorites. That means alot to me that you guys are excited about this story._**

**_To tell truth, i never planned to write the first chapter today but i was so motivated by you guys so thank you! I feel like i won an Oscar or something. haha._**

**_So please enjoy this chapter.  
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Every family owns a tradition. Whether it's family game night or even something beyond wild and crazy. The Bolton family, like other family, owns a tradition too. But theirs might be mindless and stupid compared to other families. Troy Bolton would know exactly how crazy family traditions could go.

The tradition the Boltons must follow is that: _No Bolton (man or woman) must be single upon reaching his or hers mid to late twenties._ That means there's a deadline for every Bolton offspring and all of the offspring had never once broke the tradition but it seems that there's one Bolton who refuse to play by the rules and his worried parents are going to put a stop to his nonsense.

Troy Bolton, son and last child of Jack and Lucille Bolton and little brother to James Bolton. The Bolton clan is rather wealthy as they owned a successful law firm in New York City. The reason for the tradition to be written is so that there will be a legacy to take over the law firm no matter what. For the current Bolton legacy, James is entitled to take over the law firm while Troy, who is suppose to be not far behind, decided to have his own passion.

Troy was never interested in being a lawyer like his father and brother. His passion in life, is surprisingly music. He loves writing music and playing his guitar. He is now working in a record label as a songwriter much to his father's objection. Though his rough family ties, Troy still manage to win some awards for his songs he wrote.

Troy's older brother, James, is exactly what parents want their offspring to be. Smart, successful, good-looking, you name it. Troy was all of those too. But he prefers to show use his talents for his passion instead of following his father's passion. James is married to accountant, Jenna Philips, who he met in college. James followed the Bolton tradition and married Jenna before he turned 26 years old and a year later, they had a son, Jeffery. Troy thought it was ironic how their names were all started with the same letter. Troy found it rather stupid and predictable. He vowed to never marry a girl who has the same first letter as his.

Troy has never looked up to his older brother. Mainly because he wanted to be different instead of just being a perfect clone of what every Bolton man should be. His mother doesn't mind but his father found it rather hard to except Troy as he is. James is sometimes disappointed knowing that Troy has a different goal in his life but he is happy that Troy is just being what he is and he will have to learn to accept it no matter how ugly it might be in the end.

On a Friday night, Jack and Lucille had invited their sons to dinner. It is also one of the many Bolton family traditions they had. Sometimes Troy wondered what he did to get sucked into all the traditions chaos. Why can't his family just be normal for once? And as usual, Troy arrived late.

"Where is that boy? I thought we told him that dinner will be at 7pm," Jack said while glancing at the grandfather clock. "He's 15 minutes late."

"Jack, he will be here soon. Maybe he's just running a little late," his wife told him.

"Mom's right, dad. Plus, you know how Troy can be sometimes. I thought you would get use to his behaviour by now," James added.

"I know but for 27 years of his life, doesn't it kill him to at least call to inform that he's going to be late? I don't understand how he could survive in life," Jack said.

"All because he never checks the time?" James asks.

"Exactly!"

"Relax, Jack. After all, this dinner is about him. He needs to be calm if he's going to hear the news," Lucille said. "Still, I don't understand why this is necessary."

"It is necessary, Lucille. Every Bolton has to do this. James did it. I did it. My dad did it. Even my great, great grandfather did it. It's a tradition," Jack said.

"But it's not like he wants to work in your law firm. You still have James, don't you?" Lucille debated.

"What if something happens to him and me and there's no one left to take over the law firm? It's not like we can send Jeffery to law school at his age right now."

Lucille rolled her eyes. Her husband has never lost a fight. Ever. "Forget that I asked."

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang in the Bolton Mansion and their housekeeper Inez opened the door. There, standing in his casuals, Troy greeted his long time housekeeper with a hug.

"Inez! I missed you so much," Troy said.

"Not as much as I miss those blue eyes of yours," Inez replied. Inez had been taking care of Troy ever since he was just 8 years old. Inez had been there for Troy with every family dilemma he had and stood by his side. "You better get a move on. Your father is not too happy with you being late."

"My father isn't happy with everything I do," Troy pointed out while taking out his clothes. "I'm use to it."

After hanging his coat, he made his way to the dining room to find his family in formal clothes. You would think Troy would feel out of place, think again. There were many family occasion where he didn't follow the dress code. This, of course, bothered his father. Jack was the first one to notice his son's arrival.

"You're late," Jack said with a glare.

"Sorry. Bad traffic," Troy said simply while his mother got up from her seat to hug her youngest son.

"In any case, we're glad that you're here. We have something important to tell you," Lucille told Troy.

"What is it?" Troy asked.

"You better sit down for this one, bro," James told Troy and Troy did as he said.

"Now Troy," his mother started. "Do you remember the Bolton tradition grandpa told you and James when you two were little?"

Troy laughed amusingly, "Which one? There's so many."

"The tradition we are discussing is about the Bolton marriage deal," James informed Troy.

Troy looked blankly at everyone and then turned to his mom, "No Bolton man or woman must be single when he or she has reached his or hers mid twenties."

"What does that mean?" Troy asked.

Jack sighed at his son's cluelessness, "That means that the clock is ticking, Troy. You must find someone you love and to spend your whole life with or you will be forced into an arranged marriage."

"Arranged marriage?!" Troy exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? I'm only 27."

"James got married at 26. I don't see why that is a problem to you," Jack pointed out.

Troy stared at his father as if he is an idiot, "James dated Jenna since first year of college. I'm not even dating anyone right now. It's unfair."

"Well in that case, I guess we should go forward with the arranged marriage," Jack told Troy.

_Arranged marriage? They are out of their mind if they think that I would give the time of day to marry some stranger. _Troy thought in his head. He must find his way out of the nonsense. But how? Suddenly, Troy thought of something. Something that will keep him out of arranged marriage business. But it's too risky. But also he had no other choice.

"Unless you could tell us why you can't be in a relationship then we have no choice but to-" his mother got cut off.

"I lied. I am in a relationship. A secret relationship. Yeah, um, I started seeing this girl for a while now but we are taking this slowly," Troy lied.

"But I thought you said you're not with anyone?" James asked confused.

"Weren't you listening bro? I lied," Troy covered quickly.

"Well who is this girl?" his mother asked.

"This girl I met at the library," Troy lied again.

"What does she look like? Do you have a picture? Where is she from? Is she nice?"

"Whoa, slow down, mom. Like I said, we are in a secret relationship and we are taking things slowly so we don't really went that far yet."

"Oh, this is wonderful!"

"And also overwhelming," Jack added unenthusiastically. "Troy, you have to understand that you're…you, so we would love for you to introduce to us this girl you claim that you're dating."

"Oh, I don't know," Troy said.

"Please, we insist. Why don't you bring her to Jeffery's birthday party next Saturday? That would be great for you to introduce her to the whole Bolton family," Lucille insisted.

"Yeah, that would be great. I can't wait for you to meet her," Troy said in a fake happy tone. He knew he went too far with this little wide lie.

After dinner, Troy was at the front porch of the mansion thinking of a way to carry on with the lie he told his parents. Not too long later, his brother joined him.

"You really went too far with this one, bro," James said.

"Don't remind me," Troy replied. "What am I going to do? All I want is not to be in an arranged marriage. Why is that so necessary anyways? Why can't a Bolton do what he wants?"

"You already did, Troy," James pointed out. "Maybe dad still wants you to be the perfect Bolton. What's the matter with that?"

"You'd never understand," Troy mumbled.

"Why not?"

"Nevermind. That's not important. What's important is who am I going to find that will agree to be my pretend girlfriend for the sake of avoiding an arranged marriage?" Troy asked.

"You're on your own with this one, bro. I have to leave now. See you next week. Good luck finding your faux one true love!"

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	3. Troubles Leads To Untrustworthy

**_I want to thank everyone who had reviewed me in the last chapter._**

**_I would have to say that i am not quite proud of this chapter but i had to post it._**

**_Sorry if you hate it but i swear i would write a better one soon._**

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Whenever you see a beautiful girl, you would think, 'Oh! She must a model' or "Oh! She must have the beautiful gene' or even 'Oh, her dad pays for anything she wants because she's daddy's little girl'. Gabriella Montez is all those things except for the first one.

Born to a middle-high class family, Gabriella can get anything she wants. Ever since her mother past away when she was 10, her dad had done everything to make sure that the hole in her heart is filled. Unfortunately, the hole has been filled with being a total brat.

Gabriella wasn't always a total brat. She was actually a normal girl with normal friends. She just doesn't know how to make the right decisions, that's all.

When getting everything she ever wanted, Gabriella see her life as easy-going and that she doesn't have to worry about anything except about the hair getting split ends.

Gabriella's dad, Len, works as the president of an architectural company and gets paid pretty well. Not wanting to make Gabriella be even more depressed by the death of his wife, he tried to give Gabriella anything she wants, whenever she wants it. He just doesn't like seeing her sad. He wants to see her happy and moving on with her life instead of mourning. But sometimes when giving someone freedom, it will come back to kick you in the ass.

After looking at Gabriella's credit card bill, Len was about to blow up. He couldn't believe the advantage his daughter took for granted for using his credit card. He knew that she had gone too far and he needs to put a stop to it.

"I am cutting you off," Len said simply to her daughter.

"What?" Gabriella asked as if her dad is stupid. "Why?"

"Gabriella, when you shop, do you ever bother to check the price tag?" her dad asked.

"Should I? I thought I could get anything I want?" Gabriella said, reminding her dad what he told her years ago.

"Well now I'm drawing the line here."

"How will I get money from?" Gabriella asked.

"There's this thing I've been doing for years now. It's called a job," her dad said sarcastically.

Since then, Gabriella tried her best to find out what she's going to do for the rest of her life. She hated to admit it, but her father is right. She needs to get a job. She can't imagine being one of those _'Paris Hiltons'_ who goes to parties every night and keep dating different guy every week. Then she realised how much she loved fashion. She especially loved designing wedding dresses for women. She remembered finding her mother's wedding dress when she was little and imagined her wearing a beautiful white gown as beautiful as her mother's. Sometimes when finding inspirations for sketching her wedding dresses, she looks at her mom's to see how she could make it modernised but yet classic.

She even has a book of wedding dress sketches that looked so good that she even started to sew it when she had time. She is secretly designing a wedding dress she would wear for her big day. She knew she shouldn't think about marriage but she couldn't help but wearing the perfect wedding dress that she will walk down the aisle with.

One day, while looking through the newspaper, she found out that there's a vacant studio around the town area. The picture of the studio looks very convincing to Gabriella and she can't wait to buy it. That afternoon, she called in to ask for more details about the studio.

"The studio will cost you $15000," said the women selling the studio.

"Oh. Really? Wow. Must I pay you right away?" Gabriella asked.

"Pretty much. If you are interested, I could reserve this studio for you. I don't think anyone would want to buy this studio anyways," the women offered.

"Really? Thank you so much. I will get the money as soon as I can. When would you want the money?"

"Maybe by next month?"

_Next month?! How am I going to get $15000 in a month? I don't even have a job. _Gabriella thought.

"Um, yeah, sure. Next month would be good. Thank you."

---

Gabriella is currently living in a Manhanttan apartment with her longtime friend, Sharpay Evans. She and Sharpay have known each other since middle school and had grew up together for years. Sharpay has always been there for Gabriella through the ups and the downs in her life. She was always there for Gabriella whenever she needs it.

"How are you going to get the money, Gabs? Your dad will never give you that much just for a studio," said Gabriella's friend, Sharpay.

Gabriella shrugged, "I would have to work for it I guess. I'm sure my dad won't mind me working at his company right?"

"Why don't you just tell him you want a studio to start your business. He can't say no to that right? Isn't he the one that told you to work?" Sharpay pointed out.

"Well, yeah but I think it would so much better if I raise the money by myself. There's no harm to that right?"

One day at the office, Gabriella was slacking off when her dad's assistant called her into his office. Gabriella was nervous to know what he wanted. She knocked on his office door and slowly opened it.

"Dad?"

"Gabriella, please have a seat," her dad said.

"What is this about? I haven't been using your – erm, I mean _my _credit in the last few weeks," Gabriella said.

"This isn't about your credit card. Or mine, for that matter. I just want you to know that I will be away for a few weeks for an overseas business trip. Since I know you can't survive without _my _money, I am giving you access to my bank account. _But _only for emergencies," her dad explained. "Understood?"

"Why does this have to be concerned by me?" Gabriella asked.

"Because I know you. I know that you will get yourself in such situations that I don't want to know," answered her dad.

"It's not like I'm going to rob a bank dad. I get paid $2000 per week," Gabriella said. "Plus, what kind of trouble will I get myself into for a few weeks. Usually trouble will find me in a month so you won't have to worry about me at all. I swear."

"Alright, have it your way. Just try not to trust anyone. Or do anyone a favour okay? I just want you to be safe."

Gabriella sighed. Her dad is overprotective sometimes. She got up and hugged her dad tightly. "Chill out dad. You're only gone for a few weeks. Not a whole year. It'll be fine. I'll even have Sharpay take care of me efficiently so I won't get in trouble at all."

"That's what I'm counting on."

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**_PLEASE REVIEW and i will work on the next chapter ASAP!  
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	4. Stumbled Encounter

**_Here it is! Hope you like it._**

Few days had past and Troy still hadn't figure out how he's going to tell his parents that he lied about the fact that he was dating a girl. He wanted to tell them the truth but couldn't bear to do it. He didn't want to his mother's hopes up but he didn't want to disappoint her either. His dad would be more than upset with him if he learns that he have been lying too. Who knew a little lie can be such a bug problem?

Troy had thought of plan to find a girl that would agree to be his fake girlfriend but what girl on her right mind would want to agree to that? Unless she owes him a favour.

That was his plant right there. But he doesn't know any girl that owes him any types of favour. He hasn't been dating much since he started working. He's been so committed to his job that he put dating on hold.

Usually with a dilemma, Troy would make his way to his favourite café right across the street of his apartment building to clear his mind. Drinking the café's popular coffee helps him think usually when he is trying to write a song.

After taking a sip of the coffee, he tried to think. It was really hard considering the people coming in and out of the café and the amount of noise people were making. _Ok, I need a sign to solve my problem. Just one sign. Come on brain. THINK!_

His thought were completely interrupted by someone who ironically landed on his lap. Troy glanced at the girl on his lap with a shocked and confused look. He noticed that she looked as shocked as he was.

"I'm so sorry. I was in a rush," she said but she was still on his lap. When she realised she still was, she quickly got up and gathered her stuff on the ground.

"It's cool. This café is kind of small and people usually bumped into strangers all the time," Troy said.

The girl smiled, "I wouldn't know considering that I have never been into this place before."

"Then why are you here?" he asked.

"My boss had me go on a coffee run because he hates my guts," she explained sarcastically.

"Bosses can be such morons sometimes," Troy agreed.

"Tell me about it," she responded.

Troy took the moment of silent to look at her. She had nice brown eyes and beautiful long black hair which she tied up in a ponytail. By the way she dresses, it seems that she works somewhere in the business world. The world which Troy hated. Troy also noticed that she's very good-looking too. He wished he knew what she was thinking about. _Maybe I should ask her out sometime. _Troy thought.

"So," Troy started. "What's-" Before Troy could ask, the girl interrupted him.

"I have to go now. Someone's got to order those coffees. I'll see you around," the girl said as she walked towards the counter.

Troy sat back down as she left him without finishing his sentence. Maybe he was losing his touch with girls. Normally girls would be easily attracted to Troy. As he watched the girl leaving, he felt something below his foot. He looked under the table and saw a book. Troy opened the book to see if the owner's name was inside but there wasn't. There were only some sketches of women in white dresses.

Then Troy realised that maybe the book belonged to the girl that bumped into him. He almost got up from his seat to chase after her to hive her back her book but there was no use. He didn't know where she worked at and what her name is even. Troy could only hoped that she would come back to reclaim her book.

Then it hit Troy. This was the sign. His plan started to form in his head. Firstly, Troy would come back to the café again tomorrow and see if she comes back. When she does, Troy would give back the book and then she would have to do him a favour. Like being his fake girlfriend for example. This plan is working smoothly. All that's left is for the girl to come back then Troy's dilemma will be gone.

---

After a very long day at work, Gabriella opened her apartment door and threw her handbag to the nearest chair and lay on the couch. Today was definitely not her day at all. First she overslept and her boss had a fit about it and told her to make copies of ten different documents and then he made her to go to this café blocks away from the office to fetch him coffee for himself and some of his workers. After getting the coffees, it took her half an hour to get a cab and by the time she reached the office, the coffees turned cold so she had to go to the kitchen and heat it.

The only good thing happened to her was when she met the nice guy at the café. Maybe it was embarrassing falling into his lap but he didn't make a big deal out of it. In fact, he made her feel better. She was sure that he was thinking of asking her out by the way he was looking at her but she didn't want to be dating some guy right now. Her main focus now is her future career being a wedding dress designer.

Not a moment later, her roommate entered the living room and saw Gabriella lying on the couch with a pillow to her face.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Sharpay asked.

"No. I'm too tired. I hate my job. I hate my life," Gabriella said as she threw the pillow to Sharpay.

"Ok, I get it that you're unhappy but that doesn't mean that you can just throw my favourite pillow to my face," Sharpay said.

"Sorry," Gabriella apologised as she sat up. "I'm just so tired of this. All I want is to be a designer. Not be doing coffee runs for my stupid boss who wants coffee that is like a hundred blocks away from where I work."

"That sucks," Sharpay said as she sat down beside her and turned on the TV.

Gabriella stared at her friend weirdly. "I thought you were here to check if I was okay?"

"I never said that? I just _asked_ if you were okay. I came out here to watch TV. _Grey's Anatomy _is on right now," Sharpay said simply.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and got up to search for her sketchbook, "I don't get you. _Grey's Anatomy _isn't that popular anymore."

"Bite your tongue! Yes they are. They're just losing their audience to _Glee._"

"Oh no!"

"Exactly! Sometimes I wonder why people prefer Glee so much. They are just a bunch of high school kids with normal problems. Big deal," Sharpay said without paying the slightest attention to Gabriella.

"Not that! I can't find my sketchbook!" Gabriella said.

"Maybe you left it at work," Sharpay said.

"No way. I put it right in my bag," Gabriella said

"Maybe you bummed into someone and it dropped?" Sharpay asked.

Then Gabriella remembered. When she fell on that guy's lap, her things from her bags did dropped but she didn't thought about her book. "Oh my gosh! I left it at the café at Orchid Drive."

"But that's like a gazzilion miles away," Sharpay said. "By the time you reach there now, they're probably closed."

"I would have to go tomorrow then. Thank god tomorrow's Saturday," Gabriella said.

"Yeah, yeah. Good thing. Now be quiet. It starting," Sharpay said. Gabriella glared at Sharpay and threw another pillow her head and walked off.

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**_Maybe you're wondering why i didn't have them have the 'love in first sight' moment. That is because i think it's just too common. Not everyone gets 'love in first sight' moments too often but i am so not against it. I'm just trying something new that's all. I hope you like it._**

**_PLEASE REVIEW!  
_**


	5. The Hero That Needs A Favor

**_Here you go everyone! This is one of my fave chap so far so i hope you like it. Sorry if the story didn't make sense abit but i hope you like it._**

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The next day, same time as yesterday, Troy arrived at the same café he went yesterday to try to find the girl to give her book back. Troy was starting to get nervous and started to think all the negative stuff, _What if the girl didn't realised her book is gone and she'll never come back? If that happens, my plan will be ruined and if my plan is ruined, I'll be the laughing stock of the party! Please make her come back._

Troy sat at the same table and watched the door of the café, waiting to see the next person who comes in to the door. Half an hour passed and still no sign of dark haired girl. He started to get restless and also started to feel the sudden urge to go to the bathroom but he's afraid that while he's gone, the girl would come and he would missed her. He is not taking any chances but he also can't hold his bladder any longer. _I'll just go for a few seconds and come back quickly. _Troy thought. But when he came back to his table, still no sign of the girl. He decided to stay a little longer and make time past by playing his guitar by window. That way, he could get inspired to write a song and look out for the girl at the same time.

Not too long later, a guy walks in and saw Troy sitting by the window. He quickly recognised his best friend playing the guitar.

"Waiting for somebody?" the guy asked.

Troy stopped playing and looked at who was talking to him. "Chad? What are doing here? You hate coffee," Troy said.

"I know but I'm on my way to see Taylor at the hospital and she told me to get her a blueberry muffin," Chad said. Chad and Taylor met while in college and had since been together and currently just started living together just last month. "What are you doing here? Trying to write the next big hit?"

"Kind of. Um, I found this book that belongs to the girl that accidently landed on my lap yesterday and thought that I would wait here in case she comes back. Apparently there's still no sign of her whatsoever," Troy said.

"Whoa, a girl landed on your lap?" Chad asked.

"It was a bit crowded yesterday and she fell and apparently fell on my lap. Then she left this book behind," Troy explained while showing Chad the book.

"What kind of book is that?" Chad asked.

"It has all sketches of dresses or something. I don't know. She didn't look like a designer though," Troy said.

"Then what _does_ she look like?" asked Chad.

"Well, she's kinda good-looking office type – wait, why does it matter to you?" Troy asked Chad back.

"Chill out. I was just making conversation. Sounds like you have the hots for this girl," Chad said. "Is she hot?"

Troy shrugged, "She's alright I guess."

"Is this the girl that you're going to bring to your nephew's birthday party as your fake girlfriend?" Chad asked suspiciously.

Troy gave Chad a confused look, "How did you find that out?"

"Your brother told me," Chad explained. "How is it possible that my best friend has a girlfriend and not tell me?"

"That's because I don't have a girlfriend. I just need a girl to become my fake girlfriend so my parents won't make me go through with an arranged marriage," Troy explained.

"Arranged marriage? No one told me about that," Chad said.

"Same here. I mean my grandfather did but I was too young to take it seriously."

"Ouch," was all Chad said. "Well I have to go. Taylor's probably waiting for her blueberry muffin. See you this weekend! Good luck. Can't wait to meet her."

"Bye."

---

Meanwhile, Gabriella just got out from the cab and entered the café she went into yesterday. She couldn't sleep last night thinking that her book is probably been stepped on or thrown away or put in a dusty lost and found box or even been taken by some person who will do either of those above. Gabriella pushed her way through the door and began searching for her book on the ground but she didn't find anything. She went to the counter and walked to the manager.

"Excuse me, sir? I was here yesterday and I left my book behind," Gabriella explained. "You don't happen to have any sort of book kept in your lost and found, do you?"

"No, I'm sorry. No book was given to the lost and found yesterday or recently," the manager said.

"Oh, nevermind. Thanks."

_Great, I lost my book completely. I would have to redo every sketch I've ever done. _Gabriella thought. Then she felt someone tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to find the guy that she fell on yesterday.

"Hi, you dropped this yesterday and thought you might want it back," the guy said simply while handing her book back.

Gabriella let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you so much! You're a hero. Is there anything I can repay you?"

The guy grinned at her, "Now that you mention it…I do need help in something."

Gabriella winced at him, "It's not something perverting right? Because I will never-"

"No, no, no. This is more PG. I need your help. You see, I need you to be my girlfriend," the guy said.

"You need me to be your girlfriend?" Gabriella asked. "What are you desperate?"

"Kind of," he said. "I need you to be my fake girlfriend so my parents won't make me marry some girl in an arranged marriage. Please. I did you a favour and you need to do your part."

Gabriella scoffed, "What if I refuse?"

The guy snatched the book from Gabriella's hands and held it high so she couldn't reach it, "If you refuse, I'll throw your little drawing block in the trashcan."

"Alright! Alright! I'll do it! Just give me my book back!" Gabriella pleaded.

"You swear?" he asked.

"Yes!"

"Swear on your book?" he asked again.

"Yes! I swear. Now please give it back to me. This is not funny at all," Gabriella pleaded again.

"Ok." Finally, he gave her book back and Gabriella hugged it tightly to her body. "Perfect. I will pick you up tomorrow at noon and you will begin to be my fake girlfriend," he declared.

"Wait! I don't even know your name," Gabriella said.

"It's Troy. Troy Bolton. And your name is?" Troy asked.

"Gabriella Montez and don't you feel weird asking a girl you just met to be your fake girlfriend?" Gabriella asked him.

"Of course it is but I just need help. After tomorrow you can forget about everything that happened and moved on with your life by drawing people in that little book that you love so much," Troy said.

Gabriella scowled, "It's not just a book and I am not just drawing people. I am a fashion designer and I design wedding dresses for women."

Troy chuckled mockingly as he walks back to wear he was sitting. "You're a designer? You don't look like one that's for sure."

"And you don't look ignorant but I guess you shouldn't judge a book by its cover right?" Gabriella fought back.

"Whatever. Just give me your address Gina and you can go," Troy said.

"It's Gabriella," she corrected him.

"Whatever," Troy said as he sat down and held his guitar in his hands. Gabriella took the seat right in front of him.

"Shouldn't we like, get to know each other first or something?" Gabriella suggested.

"Why? Are you starting to fall for me or something?" Troy asked cockily.

Gabriella glared at him, "Fat chance. I meant, shouldn't you brief to me what is going to happen tomorrow? Relatives I should avoid?"

"The only relative you should avoid is my dad. He'll ask you questions till you cry. He did that to his client once," Troy explained.

"Client?"

"He's a lawyer. A very good lawyer. He owns the family's law firm since forever."

"And I'm guessing you're a lawyer too right?" Gabriella guessed.

"No. But my brother is. I didn't go to law school. I just went to a normal college and studied music. I'm a songwriter," Troy explained.

"Is your dad ok with you not being a lawyer?" Gabriella asked.

Troy decided not to answer that question. Many people asked him that for years and he always give the same reason. Troy just shrugged and changed the subject, "What about you? You're a designer. Tell me something about your job. Is it great?"

"Well I'm almost a designer. I'm saving up money to buy my own studio so I could start my collection from there. I'm not saying I'm poor or something. I'm actually quite rich."

"Then why are saving money? Don't you have tons already?" Troy asked.

"My dad cut me off after my last shopping spree. And now I am working at his architect company to save up the money. I hate my job," Gabriella said.

"That bites," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled a little at her new friend, "Now what is this about an arranged marriage? Why would your parents do that to you?" Gabriella asked.

"I asked my parents that too. My family has this stupid and crazy tradition that I have to get married and have a child before I turn 30," Troy explained.

"I won't have to marry you right?" Gabriella inquired.

"Of course not. Are you crazy? I just need you to show to my parents that I care about the tradition. After that you're good to go," Troy said.

"Sounds like you're just using me," Gabriella said.

"No. You just owe me a favour and after that we can declare that we're equal. Got it?"

Gabriella sighs, "Fine."

"Perfect," Troy then took out some money from his pocket. "Now here's $50. My nephew's birthday is tomorrow and I need you to help to get me a present at the toy store."

Gabriella glared threatened-ly at Troy and Troy quickly took his money back, "Alright, fine. You girls with your death glares."

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	6. Meet The Parents

**_Hi! Before you start i would just like to say thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. I am totally grateful for it. :)_**

**_This chapter might include some errors but i tried my best. Please enjoy!_**

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The next day, Gabriella was getting ready to go to Troy's nephew's birthday party because she was forced to. Gabriella was still not happy with the idea Troy thought was doing him a favour but she had no choice. Ok, maybe it was stupid to choose your favourite book and become a fake girlfriend to some guy she just met (and already hate) but it was a moment of weakness. While getting ready, Sharpay walked passed her room and saw Gabriella picking out an outfit.

"Going somewhere?" Sharpay asked.

Gabriella sighs, "Long story."

Sharpay entered Gabriella's room and sat on her bed, "I have time. Now dish."

Gabriella took a deep breath, "Ok, remember when I lost my book?" Sharpay shrugged and Gabriella continued, "Well, I was right. I did left it at the café but someone else found it on the same day so when I was looking for it yesterday, he found me and gave me back my book."

"And what? He asked you out on a date?" Sharpay asked.

"I'm not done. So I'm so happy that he found my book and then I said 'is there anyway I can repay you?' and then he said yes and that he wants me to be his fake girlfriend for a day for his nephew's birthday today so his parents won't make him be in an arranged marriage," Gabriella explained. "So yeah, my life sucks."

Sharpay smiled amusingly, "So you're his bitch?"

Gabriella scowled at her friend and threw a pillow at her face. "You know, you've been throwing pillows at me a lot recently. Besides, if you hate it so much, why didn't you just say no?"

"He said if I refuse, he wouldn't return my book and that he would throw it the trash can," Gabriella answered.

"That does sucks. Well so now you're going to meet his family?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah."

"Are you nervous?"

"Why should I? I'm just there for a day and then I won't even be seeing him or his family anymore so I might make the most of it," Gabriella said.

"But what if his family starts to like you? Or better! He starts to like you," Sharpay said.

"What? That's just stupid and plus, he hates me and I hate him," Gabriella said.

"I don't know G. Hate can lead to like and then love," Sharpay said.

"You watch too many chick flicks," Gabriella said.

"And you don't watch enough of them. I don't know, G. Maybe you should give him a chance. You haven't dated anyone in a while and who knows, he might be the one," Sharpay said.

"Yeah, the one that I would stab in the face by the end of the day."

"What's his name?" Sharpay wanted to know.

"Troy Bolton," Gabriella said while continuing to choose her outfit.

"Is he hot? What does he look like?" Sharpay asked again.

Gabriella was distracted about choosing her outfit but still answers Sharpay, "He's tall and an appealing guy I guess. He has shaggy light brownish hair and his eyes are blue in colour. It looks as if I'm looking at an ocean – wait, why is this so important?"

Sharpay looked at Gabriella innocently, "What? I was just asking and you're the one who's babbling there. Sounds like you like this Troy Bolton guy. Maybe you should take a picture of him."

"And what? Paste it on the wall and throw chilli sauce all over him," Gabriella said.

"I think you would like that very much," Sharpay smirked.

Gabriella gave Sharpay an irritated look, "Don't you have to be somewhere right now?"

"Alright, alright. Have fun."

---

Half an hour later, Troy arrives at Gabriella's apartment building to pick her up to go to the birthday party. He arrived in a red Mercedes Benz and honked and gave Gabriella a cocky grin as he arrived. Gabriella had to roll her eyes at his actions as she enters his car.

"Like my ride?" Troy asked.

"I didn't say I did," Gabriella answered.

"Yeah but I saw you checking Macy out," Troy said.

"Who's Macy?"

"That's the name of my car," Troy answered.

"You name your car Macy?" Gabriella asked then she looked the other way and mumbled, "What a freak."

"I heard that," Troy said. "And well it's either you were admiring Macy or you were just checking me out."

Gabriella scoffed, "As if. I would rather check out a monkey on a tricycle than you driving a Mercedes Benz. Where is the party held anyways?"

"At my parents house just outside of New York. Get ready because it's going to be a big fiesta. I heard my parents planned a carnival theme party," Troy said.

"For a 3 year old? Don't you think your parents are going overboard with it?" Gabriella asked.

"Jeffery is my parent's first and only grandson. Of course they will go all out. I can't imagine what they'll do to my first child, I mean…," Troy stopped talking when he realized what he said.

Gabriella giggled a little bit, "Sounds like someone's planning his future."

"Shut up," Troy responded while blushing.

Gabriella giggled again and then turned on the stereo of the car. The radio station played one of Gabriella's favourite songs and started to hum the song. Troy turned his neck to her and smiled. "You like this song?"

"Absolutely. It makes me happy every time I hear it," Gabriella answered.

"That's good to know. I wrote it you know," Troy informed.

Gabriella didn't believe him, "You're lying."

"No. Seriously I wrote it. Well I co-wrote it but yeah, I wrote it," Troy said.

Gabriella still didn't believe him, "Get out of here. No way."

"I did write this song. Why is it so hard to understand?" Troy asked.

"Well first off, you don't seem like the type to write a song like and secondly, you don't seem like the type of person to be writing songs at all. Maybe a journalist or photographer but other than that I don't believe you wrote that song at all," Gabriella said.

Troy gave her a challenged look, "Well then you don't look like an aspiring designer at all."

"Oh, really? Why is that?"

"First of all, you're a few inches short and…well that's it," Troy smirked.

"I cannot believe you just made fun of my height. You're lucky you're driving right now or you can say goodbye to your future with kids," Gabriella jokingly threatened.

Troy laughed, "But jokes aside, you're really good. Some of the sketches I saw in your book are kind of nice. You're really good."

Gabriella gasped, "You looked in my book?"

"Well I had to find out your name right?"

"Why? Cause you're _so_ into me?" Gabriella mocked Troy. Troy chuckled a little and Gabriella soon followed as well. The car ride didn't seem so bad after all.

Not too long after that, they finally arrived at the Bolton Mansion. Gabriella was amazed at how extravagant it was. Even her old house isn't that big. She started to feel nervous about meeting Troy's relative. Then she thought, why should she? She's never going to see them again. Right?

"Wait," Gabriella said while stopping at her tracks. "Are you sure you've got this planned out perfectly? What are _we_ going to happen after this?"

"Don't worry. If by tomorrow my parents asked about you, I'll just say you have to move to China because of a sudden job transfer and that we decided to break up after that. No big deal," Troy explained.

Gabriella didn't think his idea was good but she'll just have to go with it, "Alright but why China?"

"I don't know. China just popped up in my head when I was having Chinese food one night. Convenient huh?"

"Ohhkayy, but don't come crawling back to me if your plan blows."

As Troy enters through the big mansion doors, he was greeted by the housekeeper Inez.

"Inez!"

"There's my handsome Troy," she said as she hugged him and then she faced Gabriella and gasped, "Is this the girlfriend you told your parents about?"

"Yep. Inez, this is Gabriella…uh…" Troy stuttered as he forgot Gabriella's last name.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and helped him, "Montez. Gabriella Montez."

"Troy, how could you not remember your girlfriend's name?" Inez scolded him.

"Yes, Troy. How could you?" Gabriella asked amusingly.

"Guess I got a lot in my mind for the past few days. For example, introducing my beautiful girlfriend to my parents for time," Troy said as he took Gabriella's hand and squeezing it tightly causing Gabriella's hand to be squeezed tightly in pain. "Let's go and meet my parents Gabriella." Gabriella could only smile because she couldn't bear the pain Troy did to her.

As they walked away from Inez, Troy realised Gabriella's hand, "You know, there's no need for you to squeeze my hand so tightly. If you don't like something just tell me," Gabriella said sarcastically.

Troy ignored her and walked to the snack table with Gabriella following at his tail. "What should I do now, _boyfriend_?" Gabriella asked with an annoyed tone.

"Just be my girlfriend. Stay close to me. Giggle at anything I say and tolerate a few people here. That including my parents," Troy explained.

"Where are they anyways?" Gabriella asked.

"Who knows? Oh, my brother's coming. Don't worry, he knows about this," Troy said.

James smiled at his little brother while holding his son in arms, "Hi Troy. This must be the girl that you asked to be your fake girlfriend right?" his brother asked sarcastically.

"Yeah. This is Gabriella," Troy introduced.

"Hi, I'm James and this is my son Jeffery, aka the birthday boy," James said.

"It's nice to meet you two. Troy has informed me about you two," Gabriella said.

"Heads up you two. Mom and dad are making their way here. Good luck," James said before walking away.

Troy and Gabriella eyes grew wide open. They weren't ready as they seem were. Troy was starting to panic as to what to do in his actions to make his fake relationship seem convincing to his parents. _Should we hold hands? Should I put my arms around her? Should I kiss her? _Before Troy could make any move, Gabriella took his hand and rested her head in his chest.

"Troy?" Lucille called.

Troy and Gabriella turned around and acted surprise, "Oh hi mom! Dad."

"Is this the girl you told us at dinner?" his mother asked.

"Yes. This is Gabriella Montez. My girlfriend," Troy introduced.

"It's nice to finally meet you. To be honest I never thought Troy would be dating but after I find he is, I am so happy for my little boy," Lucille said.

"Mom," Troy whined.

"So Gabriella, how did you two meet?" Jack asked.

"At a café," Gabriella answered.

"But I thought you met at the library?" Lucille asked.

"What Gabriella meant was the café…at the library. The café library. Yeah that's it," Troy answered quickly.

"Aw, was it love in first sight?" Lucille asked.

"Not really," Gabriella answered.

"What Gabriella meant was, we were friends first and we developed our relationship from there," Troy said quickly. "Isn't that right sweetie?" Troy asked as he squeezed his hand tightly at Gabriella's.

"Right. He's right. He's the apple of my eye. My hero and apparently my soul mate," Gabriella answered sarcastically.

"That's so sweet. Why don't you come and join us for a moment? I'm sure Troy's relatives would love to know how you two develop your relationship."

"I don't know mom," Troy said.

"Please, I insist. I'm sure Gabriella doesn't mind right?" Lucille asked. Gabriella stared helplessly at Troy but Troy looked as lost as she was. She didn't know what she was going to answer. If she said no, his mother would think she's rude but if she yes, it's going to be a long night. Well, she might as well go through with it.

"Uh, I guess not," Gabriella answered.

_To be continued…_

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	7. I Guess This Is Goodbye, Right?

The rest evening there went well. Gabriella did a great job tolerating the Bolton family and other family friends who came to talk to her. Unfortunately for her, she was trapped in a conversation and she was in the middle of the circle. All the attention went to her immediately as soon as everyone found out that Gabriella is Troy's girlfriend. When being asked what's in store for the future, Gabriella only answered, "We'll see." It's not promise yet it's not saying no either.

That day, Troy drove Gabriella back to her apartment building.

"Thanks again for doing me this favour," Troy said. "I know it must have been hard being surrounded by people who are complete strangers to you. Glad that you easily tolerated my monster family."

"No problem. Your family is nice," Gabriella said. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then. Good luck telling your parents we're over or that we never even started in the first place."

"Don't sweat. I'll be out of your hair and you can go back to living in your little fantasy world as 'designer'," Troy said while putting inverted commas to designer.

Gabriella scowled, "Well good luck writing nursery rhymes for 2 year olds."

"I thought you liked my nursery rhymes. I distinctly remembered you singing along with the song," Troy fought back.

"I wasn't singing. I was humming. There's a big difference. Of course you wouldn't know because you only have an IQ of a 2 year old," Gabriella said.

Troy glared at Gabriella, "You know, if you weren't a girl, I would totally kick your ass right now but since I'm being really nice, GET OUT OF MY CAR!"

"Whatever! I wouldn't want to be seen in an ugly car anyway," Gabriella said as she got out of the car and slammed the door hardly.

Gabriella went up to her apartment and slammed the door shut in frustration. She couldn't a guy as mean and insensitive as Troy even existed on earth. He is definitely not the person Gabriella will have a good memory with. Period!

"G? Is that you?" Sharpay asked.

_Finally a friendly voice. _Gabriella sighed, "Yeah."

"How was the Bolton family?"

"They're nice. I just can't stand one nub from their family," Gabriella said.

"Troy's mother?" Sharpay guessed.

"No. Troy himself. He is a jerk! First he says I'm not meant to be a designer and then he says I'm short after the favour I did for him. Can you believe it? This is why I don't date rich jerks like him. They're always insensitive and oblivious to other people's feelings," Gabriella said.

"There, there. It's all better now right? At least now you won't have to see him anymore right?"

"Yeah. You're right. Thank god for that."

What Gabriella didn't know that the Bolton family have completely fallen in love with her just like they thought Troy was. After Troy and Gabriella left, Lucille talked to her husband about Gabriella and how she is the perfect woman for Troy. They have decided that Troy shouldn't waste any more time.

Few days later, Troy's parents called Troy to come to their house again. They were going to tell him the good news while Troy is planning to announce what had happened to Gabriella so everything could go back to normal.

As usual, Inez opened the big mansion doors and Troy greeted her.

"Your parents are at the den. I heard that they have some news to tell you," Inez informed him.

"I have something I have to tell them too. I'll tell you when mom's crying about it," Troy said.

"What's the matter? Did something happen to you?" she asked.

"Kind of. But you have to wait to know. Later," Troy said.

As Troy entered the den, he saw his parents sitting at the two-seated couch upon waiting for his arrival. When his mother saw him, she didn't stand up to hug him like she usually does. Instead, she sat beside her husband.

"Troy, please sit down," his mother said. Troy obeyed her and took the seat in front of the couch. "We have something important we need you to do."

"Well I have something important to tell you," Troy said.

"That will have to wait because this is much more important and it can't wait any longer," Jack said.

Troy grew worried. "Why? What is it?"

"It's about Gabriella," Lucille started and Troy nodded. He already had a bad feeling building up in his stomach. "We think that you should ask her to marry you."

Troy's heart skipped a beat and he sat there frozen. He was trying to believe that his mother didn't really say that but it was hard because it was real.

"Troy? Are you okay hunny?" Lucille asked her son.

"Yeah. I mean no!" Troy stood up. "Why should I propose to Gabriella?"

"Don't you love her?" Jack asked.

Troy didn't know how to answer the question. It was so hard. "Well if you love her, you should be giving her a fantasy wedding then," his dad continued.

"But I haven't been dating her that long," Troy said honestly.

"We know but we think you shouldn't waste your time just dating her. Your time is almost up and if this continues, we will still go on with the arranged marriage," Lucille explained.

"So you're saying if Gabriella and I were to be still dating by the time I'm thirty, you would force me to break up with her to have me married to some stranger?" Troy asked.

"When you put it that way, yes. That's how it works. You should really pay more attention to Grandpa Bolton's stories Troy because you are falling way behind," Jack said.

"But what if she says no? Wouldn't that be embarrassing for me? What if she wants to take it slowly? Some girls prefer the single lifestyle now," Troy said.

"Then make her to want to marry you and if she refuses then we will just have to go through with the arranged marriage. It's as simple as that," his mother said.

"Before I forget, me and your mother already picked out a ring for you," Jack said as he took out a small red box from his pocket and showed it to Troy. "It was your great grandmother's. It was the same ring your great grandfather proposed with. We think that you should have it."

Troy now felt like screaming his head off. Everywhere he went with the conversation; it will always get to be linked back to the same thing. Arranged marriage. Why must his family make his life so complicated?

"So? What do you say?"

---

The next day, Gabriella was back at work and dreading her how her job sucks. She was the photocopy room to make more copies of the same documents she copied last week but apparently, her stupid boss, Mr Andrews lost it and blamed her for not filing it at the right place.

After filing the documents and putting it at his office, Gabriella walked back to her cubicle but Britney, the girl sitting next to her, stopped her.

"There's someone looking for you. He's waiting at your cubicle," Britney said.

Gabriella was confused. Who could have visited her at this hour? Didn't they know she's busy. Yet again, it's good to have reason to have a break. She walked to her cubicle and saw the mystery person waiting at her desk. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was Troy.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella said a little too loudly causing her workers to look her way.

Troy took a deep breath, "I need to tell you something."

"I don't want to hear it. I thought you're suppose to be out of my hair?"

"This is important and it involves you. Apparently you made my family like you so much that they are asking me to marry you," Troy said.

Gabriella looked at him shockingly. "What?"

"My family expects me to propose to you with the Bolton ring," Troy explained again.

Gabriella laughed a little, "Well that's definitely not going to happen. How are you going to tell them?"

Troy shrugged and got down in one knee, "I guess I have no choice. Gabriella, will you marry me?"

_**To be continued…**_

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	8. So WILL You Marry Me?

Gabriella could not believe what had just happened before her very eyes. This is so unreal. This guy who is on his knees right now, who she had just met a few days ago and did a favour for is down on his knees to ask her hand in marriage. She didn't know what to do. She froze in front of him looking shock. It is just too unbelievable for her. She didn't realised she had been staring at him for a moment while her co-workers looked over and already started 'aww-ing' to one another.

"Gabriella? I said will you marry me?" Troy asked again. "Please?" he added.

Gabriella didn't know what to do. All of the people surrounded her whispered to her, "Say yes! Say yes!" But she didn't want to say yes. She wanted to say no and say goodbye officially to this idiot but she couldn't do it in front of everyone.

"Get up!" Gabriella mumbled to Troy.

"What?"

"Get up! Follow me right now you idiot!" Gabriella said while pulling Troy's wrist as she leads him to the nearest closet and she locked the door shut. Now that they are alone, Gabriella could say what she wants without anyone judging her.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Gabriella said. "You can't just come to my work place and propose to me especially in front of every one of my co-workers. Do you know how embarrassing it is for me?"

"Look, I know you're upset but just hear me out right now," Troy said.

"What happened when you told your parents that I was moving to China or whatever reason you told them?" Gabriella asked.

"Well I didn't really got to that part yet because my mom won't let me speak first so she started talking and one thing lead to another, both my parents said that my family liked you and gave me my great grandmother's engagement ring," Troy said. "I am just as freaked out as you are."

"If it freaks you out so much, why didn't you just say no? What is wrong with you with saying no? It's easy. I say no all the time and I'm about to say no to being your bride," Gabriella said.

"Please just help me out here. They said if I refused, they will plan my arranged marriage already. It's just not right. I don't want to be an arranged marriage," Troy said.

"Why not? I thought most of your relatives did it?" Gabriella said.

"Well you obviously don't know how most of their marriages went. I'll give you a hint, not wonderful," Troy said.

"Isn't that good? If you don't like the person your parents set you up with, wouldn't it be a lot easier to just divorce her? That way your parents would know how ridiculous the marriage is and they'll leave you alone officially. True, you might get divorce before you turn thirty but what are the chances that your parents will set you up with someone you completely hate?" Gabriella asked.

"A million to one," Troy answered. "Please just do this. I haven't plan a way out of this for you but please I'm begging you. I'll do everything you want. I'll listen to everything you say just be my wife."

"Don't you feel just weird? We just met last week and here you are asking for my hand in marriage," Gabriella said. "And isn't what we're doing right now is somehow an _arranged_ marriage too?"

"Of course it's weird but . . . oh just forget it. I'll just tell them the truth and get this over with," Troy moped. Gabriella suddenly felt bad for him. No one should go through an arranged marriage. Troy was right; no arranged marriage has ever survived long. Those who have are apparently the lucky ones but it seems Troy doesn't believe he's one of those lucky ones. She wanted to make him feel a lot better but what can she do? Then she realised that most of her co-workers are probably waiting in anticipation for her to come out of the closet with a new ring on her finger. Speaking of which…

"So your parents gave you that ring right? Can I see it again?" Gabriella asked.

Troy gave the ring box to her, "Here, I have to admit it's a very nice ring."

"Me too," Gabriella smiled. It was the most beautiful ring Gabriella has ever seen in her life. The ring is princess cut and it has a shade of light blue. Gabriella knew that when the ring is shined with light, it will sparkle so beautifully. Gabriella had always imagined what kind of ring she would wear when she is engaged but even the ring she imagined isn't as beautiful as what she had in her hand right now. Oh how she wished she was wearing the ring right now and show off to her friends. Could she?

"So? Uh…how are you going to tell your parents about this?" Gabriella asked while still admiring the ring.

Troy noticed how Gabriella is looking at the ring. She seemed to be attracted to it. She didn't even look up when she was talking to him. Troy knew that she was too busy admiring the ring. Troy smiled a little. This was his chance to mess with her head and she won't even notice. Troy smirked a little before answering her in a sad tone, "I don't know. But I sure know how disappointed they are going to be in me. My mother is probably going to cry day and night because of my lie and my dad would probably never look at my face again. The rest of my relatives would probably give me a call tomorrow how the proposal went and then I would have to tell them the truth and say that all of it was a lie. My life would never be the same again."

Gabriella unfortunately did not notice that Troy was just acting and felt sorry for Troy even more. She didn't know how hard it is to keep up an image for your family who is like, super perfect and expects nothing less. Gabriella wouldn't know how it feels because she doesn't have to. Gabriella had a pretty small family. She was an only child and she doesn't have any aunts or uncles or cousins. Troy on the other hand has loads of uncles, aunts and cousins.

"So if I say yes to this, will you still do anything I asked you to do?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled inside but still managed to maintain a frown, "Yeah I guess I'll be your hero or whatever they call it but I understand you don't want to, I can't make you so…"

"I'll do it!" Gabriella said, surprising herself.

"Really?" Troy inquired.

"Really. I'll help you with this but we are going to find our way out of this sooner or later right?" Gabriella asked.

"Totally. We just have to live with this right now," Troy said.

"And keep it just professional. No groping or whatever right?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes. I promise," Troy said. He felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders.

"Alright, then, I guess I agree to be your fiancé only and only if you listen to me and do as I say at all cost," Gabriella said.

"No problem. I'll call you as soon I heard any word from my parents," Troy informed her.

"Great," Gabriella faked a smile. She started to feel a little awkward and wondered if Troy felt it too. "I guess we will have to leave now. My co-workers are probably wondering why we're in here for so long."

Troy sensed her awkwardness and decided to make her comfortable again. "Maybe they thinking that we're making out or something," Troy said.

"Why would I even want to make out with you? I bet you're a bad kisser," Gabriella said.

"I beg to differ. I can tie a cherry stem with just my tongue," Troy said.

"So?"

"Where did you come from? Everyone knows that whoever can tie a cherry stem in their mouth means that they are a good kisser. And I don't mean to brag but I can tie faster than my brother," Troy said.

"Ooh, baby brother can kiss better than his big old brother, good for you," Gabriella said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

Troy looked at her challengingly, "Do you want some proof?"

"We don't have cherries in the office for you to tie up," Gabriella said.

"No problem, I guess I will just have to do this," Troy said before leaning to Gabriella and kissing her lips softly. Gabriella was shocked but she was secretly enjoying the kiss while it lasts. Troy was right, he is a good kisser. Troy was also enjoying the kiss. Both of them suddenly felt something weird building up in the stomach. Gabriella quickly pulled back and looked at Troy. "So, enjoyed that?" he asked.

Gabriella took a deep breath. She didn't want Troy to win, "No. In fact, I rather kiss a monkey than to kiss you ever again."

"Please, you are so bluffing. You totally enjoyed that," Troy said amusingly.

Gabriella gave him a stern look. "Why? Did you?"

"Whatever. Can we just get out of here right now? It's getting hot in here," Troy said.

"Fine. It's enough I'm going to be your fiancé and kissed you. I need some air," Gabriella said.

"You're forgetting something," Troy said while pointing to the red velvet box she was still holding. Gabriella then remembered that she wasn't wearing her engagement ring yet.

"Oh right. Of course. Thanks."

"No problem. I should probably apologise what I'm about to do when I'm out of this closet," Troy said. Gabriella scrunched her eyebrows together. She didn't know what Troy meant.

Troy then opened the closet door and started to yell out, "SHE SAID YES!"

Gabriella mouthed opened widely. She could not believe how stupid Troy is. This is embarrassing beyond repair. The whole staff started to applause and congratulating them and Troy faced Gabriella again with an evil smirk on his face.

"Get out now," Gabriella whispered.

"I love you too, baby. You made me the happiest man on earth. And I'll see you at home for our _little _celebration," Troy said which made Gabriella gasped. She wished she could just kill him right this minute but there are too many witnesses. Troy gave Gabriella a kiss on the cheek and left the office.

Before Gabriella could even breathe, most of her female co-workers started to surround her to look at the new rock on her finger.

"Oh my god! I can't believe you're engaged!" one girl said.

"He is so adorable! What's his name?" another one agreed.

"Troy Bolton," Gabriella answered while the others were taking pictures of the ring and started to all compliment her all at once. This was moving way too fast for Gabriella. She needed to sit down. She knew the rest of the ride is going to be bumpy filled with many obstacle courses.

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**Sneak peek on the next chapter:** Someone from Gabriella's life has come back and it's Gabriella's job to tell him what happened to her while he was away.

**Can you guess who? Here are the options:**

_a) An ex-boyfriend_

_b) Her father_

_c) A long lost friend who has a crush on Gabriella since forever_

**So can you guess which one? Let me know what's your guess**_._

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_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	9. That Feeling That Kills You

_**I just want to take this moment to thank all you readers who have been reading Forced To Be Wed from the start and have been supporting me. Because of you guys, I am about to get 99 reviews in just 8 chapters including the trailer. I have never expected to get such attention from you guys. I found out that this story has the most hits than from any of my old stories combined so thank you all so much and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**_

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Few days have passed since Troy's proposal to Gabriella. Ironically, Troy and Gabriella haven't seen each other since then. Gabriella only mostly got calls from Troy informing her his parent's reactions were to the proposal and turns out that the Bolton family were planning to have an engagement party for them soon. Speaking of family, Gabriella grew more and more worried when she realised that her father have been MIA for the past few weeks that he doesn't know what had happened to her.

Gabriella had spent every single day thinking of a way to tell her father that she was engaged. She wanted to tell the truth but Troy insists that she would just have to lie so that her dad might not slip out about the real secret to Troy's family. Gabriella felt guilty not telling her dad at all. She was used to lying to him but not about something that big.

That day of the proposal, Gabriella went home and told her roommate what had happened to her at the office. Sharpay totally laughed out loud after Gabriella told her what happened. All she said was, "So what's next after the marriage? Will you two plan to adopt a baby and tell everyone that baby was yours?" Sharpay joked.

Gabriella responds was, "Not helping!"

It was true. Sharpay was not helping. She needed a friend to help to advice her right now. Not having to throw lame jokes around involving her. She even told Sharpay about that kiss they shared in the closet. She told Sharpay the truth on how she secretly was enjoying the kiss but didn't want to admit it.

"When we were kissing, I feel as though we were the only ones there and not only because we were in a closet," Gabriella told Sharpay.

"I hear that's what they say about a true love. When you kiss someone who is your perfect soul mate, everything in the world starts to freeze and you are the only ones there alone on earth enjoying one another's company," Sharpay said in a dreamy look in her eye.

"True love? I don't think so. I will never fall in love with someone so…so…stupid like him," Gabriella said.

"Never say never, G. Things always happen when you least expect it," Sharpay said.

Gabriella didn't know how to respond to that. It was true that she felt something at that kiss but she just didn't know how to deal with it. Every night, she sometimes wish that she could kiss Troy again to check if the thing she felt in her stomach was real or just a shocked attack. But she told him she would never kiss him ever again so how could check? She told herself she would have to forget it.

About the engagement thing, she had told every single one of her co-workers to not tell her father about it. She gave a reason that she wanted to tell her dad herself. One problem, she didn't know how.

That night when she got home from work, she checked her cell phone and saw that she had a missed call and voicemail. She assumed it was from Troy but it was from someone else. Her father. She was really starting to panic. _Oh no. Did someone tell him? It can't be. I told everyone not to. Then again, some people just can't keep a secret. _She slowly pressed her cell phone and listened to the voicemail.

"_Hi Gabi. It's dad. I'm at the airport right now on the way home. I would love to see you first thing at the office tomorrow to catch up with you. See you tomorrow."_

Gabriella held her breath. She didn't know her father was coming back so quickly. She hadn't thought of a way to tell her dad that she was engaged to some guy she met at a café whom she also did a favour for. How is she going to tell him? Should she just cry and tell her dad the truth behind Troy's back? _Of course not, _she thought. The would mean betraying Troy and breaking their deal. Suddenly she realised she started to care about Troy. It was something new and weird. She didn't like the feeling. Or does she?

The next day, Gabriella yawned while on her way to her desk at work. She couldn't sleep last night thinking that her father might have a heart attack when she tells him the big news.

While working, she kept glancing at the clock. She was anxiously waiting for her father's arrival back to work. Not too long later, Gabriella saw her father arriving at the office. She stood up from her desk and ran to the main door and greeted her father. To her luck, her father did not look quite too happy when he entered.

"Hi, dad! How did the business trip go?" Gabriella asked perky-ly.

"Horrible," her father said. "You don't want to hear the rest of it. So how have you been? Anything happened while I was gone?" he asked while entering his office with Gabriella behind him.

"Um, not much. The usual," Gabriella said. "I have a new friend."

"That's good. Is she nice?" her dad asked.

"It's a he, dad," Gabriella pointed out.

"Oh. My mistake. How did you meet him?" her dad asked again while sipping the coffee set on his table.

Gabriella took the seat in front of his desk and answered him, "We met at a café at Orchid Drive where Mr Andrews told me to go and get coffees for him and his friends," Gabriella said.

"Oh. Is that all? If not, I think you should go back to work. I'm sure he has some job for you to do," her dad said.

"Actually, I need to tell you something. You see, the guy that I met, something happened between us and I'm not sure how to tell you," Gabriella said.

Len put down his glasses he was wearing and stared angrily at his daughter, "Did this boy get you pregnant?"

"NO! That's not it. It's something much more complicated than that. Uh, well…we're engaged," Gabriella announced while getting ready to hear her father's rage.

"WHAT?! You mean to tell me some idiot propose to you without my permission? Who is this asshole? What's his name?" her dad said angrily and causing the whole office to lurk over at his office. Gabriella got up and closed the door. She didn't need any witness to see her father killing her.

"His name is-" Gabriella got cut off before she could finish.

"Never mind who he is and what's his name. Get that idiot in my office. I want to meet him," her dad declared.

"But dad, I'm pretty sure he's busy at work right now," Gabriella said.

"Whoever is willing to propose to my daughter without me knowing will be here in my office in thirty minutes not more than that. After you call this idiot, I want you come back here so I can check if there are any brain cells left in that brain of yours. Do you know how ridiculous this is? I have never been so disappointed in you in my life, Gabriella," her dad scolded her.

"Dad, it's not like I went to Vegas and married him. We're just engaged. We're not even planning a wedding yet," Gabriella said.

"I don't want to hear it, Gabriella. Contact the guy and tell him that I want to speak to him directly face to face. Got it?"

"Yes dad," Gabriella said sadly while walking out of his office. She knew her life is over. She went to her desk and took her cell phone to dial Troy's number. Luckily for her, he picked up his phone.

"Hello?" he greeted.

"Hey, it's Gabriella. We're in trouble," Gabriella said.

"Did my mother come to your office? Because I swear I didn't tell her your work address," Troy said.

"It's not that," Gabriella said then continued. "I told my dad about our engagement and he wants to see you in his office in thirty minutes," Gabriella told him.

"I don't think I can. I'm in the middle of something right now," Troy said.

"You have to. If you don't come here, my dad will chase after you like a dog hunter hunting a dog," Gabriella said.

Troy sighed, "Alright, I'll be there."

After that, Gabriella went back to her father's office. "He said he's coming. He'll probably reach here soon."

"Good. Now sit down while I talk some sense into you," her father said. Gabriella knew she was in for it. She braced herself for the worst.

Half an hour later, Troy arrived and walked towards the door that says _Len Montez. _Before entering, he heard a man talking loudly.

"Do you know how hard it is to explain this to your grandparents about this? What am I going to say to them? 'Gabriella met this guy at café and they got engaged a few days later.' Your grandmother might have a heart attack after hearing this. I am not nagging to you because I'm angry at you. I'm nagging because I am furious with you. Never in my life would I think I would be in this type of situation. If your mother was here, she would be very upset with you."

_If your mother was here_? Troy asked himself. Troy was confused. Gabriella never talks about herself too much and she never talks about her family either. Then again, Troy never took the time to ask her about herself. Troy started to feel guilty about it. He shouldn't have kept telling Gabriella how his life sucks. He should have at least asked Gabriella about herself. All Troy knew about Gabriella was she's saving up for her own line and that she wanted to be a designer and also, she liked the kiss that happened between them. Troy too enjoyed the kiss. The truth is, he couldn't get the kiss out of his head. The kiss felt good somehow but he was afraid to talk to Gabriella about it.

Troy knocked on the door before he entered. Then the two Montez looked at him. Len looked rather furious and Gabriella looked rather depressed.

"Hi. My name is Troy Bolton," Troy started. "Gabriella told me to come and meet you."

"I know. Sit down," her father told him. "So Troy, what the hell is wrong you?"

Troy was confused, "Excuse me?"

"You can't find any other woman to date so you just have to propose to my daughter without my permission?" her father asked him sternly.

"Dad!" Gabriella scolded him.

"No, its ok, Gabriella," Troy said. He has dealt with overprotective fathers before so he thinks he could handle this one too. "Mr Montez, I understand that you are concerned for your daughter's well being in my hands but I can assure you-"

"Stop it. Just stop it," her father said. "You know what, since you two want to be together so badly, I am going to buy you a nice apartment in here where you will have to live in together since you two just admire one another so bad."

"Seriously?" Gabriella asked. "I thought you were mad?"

"I'm still am but I am just helping you out here. You two are to live with each other and that's final. Secondly, Gabriella, I want you to clean your desk by today. You're fired," her father said.

Troy looked over at Gabriella. She was just as surprised as he was. "What?" she asked helplessly.

"You're fired. I don't want to have anything to do with you right now. You crossed over so many lines including this one. I'll send you the address of your new house by tomorrow and you two can start moving in next week," her father said.

"But what if I refuse into doing both of the things you want me to do?"Gabriella asked challengingly but at the same time sadly.

"You have no other choice. I'll call you when I'm not ashamed of you anymore. You two may leave now," her father said before turning to his computer screen thus beginning to ignore Gabriella for who knows how long.

Gabriella was the first one to stand up and leave but Troy didn't. He stood up and spoke to her father. "Mr Montez, I know you're angry about this but do not make Gabriella's life miserable because of me. If you're angry, be angry with me. It's my fault anyways," Troy said.

"Yes but it was her doing to say yes to you in the first place thus making this situation both your faults. I have a meeting in ten minutes. It will be a lot nicer if you leave right now," her father said, dismissing Troy.

Troy sighed in defeat and left the office. He walked over to Gabriella's desk but she wasn't there. Seconds later she appeared with a bunch of boxes in her hand. She put down the box and then completely ignored Troy.

"Do you need any help?" Troy asked her but she didn't answer. "Look, I'm sorry that I cost your job but-"

"My job? What about my life?! What about the fact that my father can't even look at me right now?" Gabriella said furiously with tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"Look, I said I was sorry. The least I can do is to help you pack or carry the boxes," Troy said.

"Sorry is just not enough. And thanks but I can get whoever to help me," she said.

"Could I offer you a ride home at least?" Troy offered.

Gabriella sighed, "I'll call you when I'm ready."

"Ok so I guess I'll be hanging out around this area for a while-" Troy got cut-off by Gabriella.

"I meant it when I say I'll call you when I'm ready. Just leave ok?" Gabriella asked before breaking down into tears. "I'll see you next week at our new home."

Troy felt helpless. He never thought any of this would happen to Gabriella. He didn't mean to make her life so miserable right now. He never felt so guilty in his life.

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_**So how was that? Didn't see that one coming did you?  
So what would happen to Gabriella now that her father practically disowned her? Will Troy be her knight in shining armour to the rescue?  
Guess you will just have to find out in the next chapter! **_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!!**_


	10. The Big Move

_**AHH! You guys are the best. Because of you, this story have managed to reach 100 reviews already! I hope I could get 200 reviews with the upcoming chapters. Thank you so much! You are the best! :)**_

_**PLEASE read at the end where there will be a sneak preview of an upcoming chapter.**_

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One week later, Gabriella is at her current home getting ready to leave and live at her new home. Since she was fired by her own father, she had a hard time finding a job to save up her money to buy the studio and for herself. She is now having a financial crisis and she was moving into a new house. She didn't know where the house is but she heard it was an apartment just at the corner or Mayflower Drive. She didn't know what the apartment building looks like or how big the apartment is. The only thing she got was the address and that's it.

That day, Gabriella came home crying while packing her stuff. But she wasn't crying because she hated Troy's guts and blamed him for it, she was crying because of her father's disappointment in her. Her father couldn't even look at her let alone talk to her anymore. The worst part is, her father actually had the guts to bring up her mother into this.

While packing the last box, Sharpay came into her room and sat on the bed that was now only a plain mattress.

"It's going to be boring here without you," she started. "This sucks."

"I know," Gabriella agreed. "The worst part is that I have to live with…him. I don't know what his living condition is like. What if he's one of those slacker types that just trashes the whole place and plays video games the whole time. It's going to be total nightmare!"

"Why don't we move there together and tell Troy that he doesn't need to move in with you anymore? Think about it, we could sell this place and split the money into half and buy new furniture for the new apartment," Sharpay suggested. "Your dad will never have to know."

"Good idea but I don't think we can pull it off. Knowing my dad, he'll know somehow," Gabriella said.

"But this isn't fair! We're made a pack to live with each other until we're thirty even if one of us gets married or starts moving in with a guy," Sharpay said desperately.

"I know Shar. But there is no way to say no to my dad. It's bad enough he disowned me," Gabriella said.

"This is just isn't fair. We didn't even get to do the things we have planned to do living together," Sharpay said.

"Like what? We did almost everything we could do together," Gabriella reminded her. "For example, prank calling your brother, booty call some guy's phone number and even have a pillow fight over who got to watch the TV first."

"It's not enough!" Sharpay whined. "We need to make history in this apartment. I hate you for living and I hate Troy Bolton for getting you into this mess, who FYI I still now haven't met him yet or seen a picture. Is he coming to pick you up?"

"Why would he do that?" Gabriella asked. "I only started to talk to him yesterday."

"And it took long enough. He might be beginning to think you don't like him anymore," Sharpay said.

"Anymore? When did I say I like him?" Gabriella asked.

"I know you didn't but I can tell that you are actually into him because you couldn't stop staring at the ring at your finger," Sharpay answered.

Gabriella blushed and was about to fight back but someone rang the doorbell. "Wonder who that could be," Sharpay said while getting up. She then opened the door who revealed a tall guy with a short sandy-brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hi, does Gabriella live here?" he asked.

Without answering his question, Sharpay asked him back, "And you are?"

"Troy Bolton. So does she live here? Because I'm knocked almost every door at this floor trying to find her," he said.

"You're _the_ Troy Bolton? The guy that proposed to Gabriella and got her in trouble with her father?," Sharpay asked.

"Somehow. So I'm guessing you're her roommate and this is her apartment right?" Troy asked.

Then suddenly Gabriella came to the front door and saw Troy, "Troy? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to drive you to our new apartment. I understand that you don't have a ride to there so I thought I would just drive you since we're going there together," Troy rambled nervously.

"Why? Did you start to feel sorry for her?" Sharpay asked threateningly.

"No," Troy answered. "I'm just trying to help her out. Why don't you just mind your own business?"

"Well Gabriella is my business therefore gives me the right to interfere," Sharpay spat back.

"Enough! It's bad enough I have two big mouth roommates now. I don't need them to out-bitch each other," Gabriella said. "Troy, I'll see you downstairs." Gabriella said while closing the door and she faced back to Sharpay.

"Was that really necessary?" she asked Sharpay.

"He deserved it. He's living with my best friend in the whole world and thus breaking our pack," Sharpay said sadly.

"Shar come on. I didn't say you can't visit. You can come over or sleep over anytime you like," Gabriella said.

"Are you sure Troy will be okay with it?" Sharpay asked.

"Who cares? He has to do everything I tell him to," Gabriella said.

"You're the best G. I'm going to miss you so much!" Sharpay said while sobbing.

"Shar, don't make me cry. I cried enough this week. You know how much I hate crying," Gabriella said while hugging her friend.

"I know. I'll call you every night to check on what's happening at your household," Sharpay said.

"No problem," Gabriella answered.

"By the way, he is so cute! You are going so lucky," Sharpay said.

After saying her last goodbye to Sharpay, Gabriella took the lift and walked outside where she saw Troy standing by his car waiting for her. Now that Sharpay mention it, Troy does look quite hot. With his shaggy hair covering his forehead, his red plaid shirt with a plain white shirt inside with jeans, Troy looked really hot. Gabriella wished she could walk to him and give him a kiss on the nice soft lips he had. _Wait! What am I saying? I hate Troy remember? I can't be falling for him._

Troy looked at Gabriella who was looking like she was deep in thought while carrying boxes on both her hands and walking slowly. Troy observed her closely, she had hair half-up and half-down and wearing what every typical New York girl would where but casual. Then he noticed her eyes. _Has it always been sparkling brown or am I just imagining it? What am I doing? I can't be falling for her am I? I couldn't. She hates me and she's going to hate me even more that now we're going to be breathing in the same place together._

Troy snapped out of his thoughts and helped Gabriella with her boxes. "Are these the last boxes?" he asked.

"Yep. The rest are already at the apartment. It's so weird leaving this place. I moved in here fresh out of college. It seems so sad to leave," Gabriella admitted.

"Well if you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you," Troy offered.

"Thanks but I don't cry," Gabriella said. After putting Gabriella's boxes in the trunk, Troy walked to the passenger door and opened the door for Gabriella like a chauffeur. "What are you doing?"

"It's called opening a door," Troy answered sarcastically.

"Well you don't have to. I can do it by myself," Gabriella replied.

"I'm just trying to help. Why are you so cranky all of sudden? What happened to 'I'm sad because I'm leaving' emotion?" Troy spat.

"It went away. Now let's hurry. I got a lot of things to unpack and a whole lot of other things to do," Gabriella said.

"Like taking a pill," Troy mumbled softly but Gabriella heard that.

"What was that?" Gabriella asked angrily.

"Nothing," Troy answered her and Gabriella shot daggers at Troy before entering the car. "Women," Troy mumbled again but this time Gabriella heard it loud and clear.

"I HEARD THAT!"

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Almost an hour later, Troy and Gabriella finally arrived at the new apartment building. They would have arrived sooner but Troy decided to make a detour to the McDonalds drive thru for a snack which is much to Gabriella's annoyance. Gabriella stepped out of the car and looked at the tall building. It almost looked like a palace but with many floors.

She did not expected her father would make her live at a beautiful place. She had expected someplace with rats or something bad. She couldn't believe how beautiful it is that she couldn't wait to see the inside of the apartment building. She could already imagine how big her apartment is.

After getting the key from the counter, Troy and Gabriella took the lift to the 9th floor where their new home will be. Gabriella thought right; the inside looked as good as the outside. As they walked to the hallway, they finally reach their door at the corner and Gabriella took the key to open the door. As she turned the doorknob, she braced herself for the best. Unfortunately, when she opened the door, she saw the first thing she didn't expect to see: lots of boxes lying around the ground.

"Oh my god," Gabriella said slowly.

"I know. What a big apartment," Troy said totally oblivious to the mess.

"Are you blind? Look at this mess! Your boxes are everywhere that I can't even see how big the apartment is," Gabriella scolded.

"Well obviously you are looking at this apartment half-empty," Troy said.

"Maybe so. Just like you brain," Gabriella said sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be nice here. If it isn't that obvious, your boxes are here too. I am not the only one who contributed to this mess. You got more boxes than I do," Troy said. "It looks as if you're moving to another country."

"I'm a girl. I'm supposed to have many stuff," Gabriella debated.

"Whatever. I'm heading to work," Troy said.

"What? You're working at our moving day?" Gabriella asked. "That's just the dumbest thing anyone would do. Who works on his moving day?"

"Apparently I do because I am trying to make a living," Troy spat out.

"Oh, I'm not? In case you forget I am currently unemployed. I need to make a living more than you do," Gabriella pointed out angrily.

Troy grew frustrated. He wanted to have a nice new beginning with Gabriella but all she does is nag. "Can we not do this right now?"

"Do what?" she asked frustratingly.

"_This_! You are acting like a brat because _daddy_ apparently doesn't want to have to do anything with daddy's little girl anymore!" Troy said angrily.

Gabriella glared at him for a second and then turned back to opened her boxes to unpack. Troy felt suddenly felt guilty for what he said. Of course Gabriella is still upset about her father.

"Gabriella, I'm sorry," Troy said softly.

"Maybe you _should_ just go back to work. Someone in this house has to," Gabriella said monotonously. "And by the way, I get the master bedroom."

"Why do you get the master bedroom?" Troy asked.

"Because I said so. You said you'll do as I say remember?" Gabriella reminded him.

With that, Troy took back his keys and exited his new apartment leaving Gabriella alone to unpack.

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That evening, Troy came back home with a box of pizza. He thought it Gabriella would be starving after unpacking all of her boxes. When Troy entered the apartment, he was surprise to see it so clean and organised unlike that morning. There were no box in sight and he was able to see all the furniture in the room. Even some of his stuff was in the living room which includes his guitar which was placed at a corner with a shelf CDs beside it.

Something was missing though. Where was the girl who did all this? When Troy turned around, he saw a balcony door near the kitchen and saw Gabriella standing there with the night wind blowing the hair. Troy knocked on the balcony door gently.

"Hey, I brought home pizza. You like mushroom and cheese right?" Troy asked gently.

"Maybe later," Gabriella said, not looking at him.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I needed to have some air, do some thinking and see what the view looks like from here. It's beautiful but I can see I particular building that I'm not too happy to see," Gabriella said while pointing Troy to the building just three streets away. It was Gabriella's father architectural business building.

Troy felt sorry for her, "I'm sorry. For everything. About getting you into this mess in the first place. For this morning and perhaps for the future that lies ahead of us."

Gabriella smiled a little, "It's fine. Everyone needs adventure in their live. I actually like the view. The only thing I'm sad about is how my dad nagged me last week. The least he could do was not mentioned my mom into this."

"What happened to your mom?" Troy asked. "You never told me about her before."

"She died in a car accident when I was 10 years old. My dad took care of me ever since," Gabriella explained.

"I'm sorry."

Gabriella giggled a little, "Would you stop that? I think you apologised enough already."

Troy shrugged, "I just feel I need to. Before I forget, here." Troy took out an envelope from his pocket and gave it to Gabriella. Gabriella took the envelope and opened it. She found that they were a lot of money in the envelope and grew in confusion.

"What's this for?"

"The least I could do. Maybe you could use the money to buy groceries and stuff or just go shopping. I'll give you money when you need it until your finance is finally stable," Troy said.

"I can't take this. It's $10, 000. It's just too much," Gabriella said.

"Of course you can. Don't even bother paying me back. It's yours now," he said.

Gabriella smiled at him, "Thanks. You don't have to but thanks. I might not say this in the future but you're a good guy, Troy."

Troy smiled at her. It was what he wanted. A nice new beginning "No problem. So want a pizza?"

"Sure."

**Sneak Peek in an upcoming chapter:**

**Troy and Gabriella will find themselves in a difficult situation. What do you think it is? Try guessing. And if you have any ideas on how the story will go, just tell me.**

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_**So? How was that? I did this chapter in the last minute so it might not be that good.**_

_**Well thanks for reading!**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	11. She's Alright

The next few days have not been doing so well for Gabriella. Every day she tried to look for a job and she can't find anything. She was unemployed, her father doesn't want to talk to her and she has to live with some guy whom she barely knows so much about. Sure Troy gave her money every month but she knew she can't take money from him forever. She needs to make her own money.

One day, while meeting up Sharpay at a bistro, they both noticed that there was a 'Help Wanted' sign pasted at the window.

"Gabriella, look. They're looking for a waitress to hire," Sharpay said while pointing to the sign.

"I don't know Sharpay. Waitress? I don't think so," Gabriella said.

"You see? This is why you still don't have a job," Sharpay said. "You keep passing on job opportunities too easily because you're just too picky."

Gabriella gasped dramatically, "I am not picky. I just want to find a good job to help me financially till I get the real job I want."

Sharpay sighed, "Gabi, you and me know that the real job you wanted is still far away. Why don't you just take a pit stop for awhile and just live in the moment. Is that so hard?"

Gabriella shrugged, "Kind of."

"You should get the job," Sharpay insisted.

Gabriella gave a moment to think. Maybe being a waitress isn't what she planned but she could just do it for money. The food at the bistro is delicious. Plus, maybe she could learn some of their recipe and try it out at home. Three weeks after living at her and Troy's new home, she still hadn't used the kitchen to cook for real.

"I'll do it," Gabriella said.

Sharpay smiled widely and took Gabriella's hand to walk to the manager of the bistro who was now taking care of the cash register.

"How may I help you?" the manager asked.

"My friend here would like to apply for a job at your bistro," Sharpay said. "This is Gabriella and she would love to be your new waitress."

Gabriella smiled awkwardly. She saw the manager examining her as if to check if she was good for the job.

"I guess we could give you a trial run and see how you go. We are kind of desperate right now so we practically take anyone but for now, let's make you work part-time for the mean time," the manager said.

Gabriella didn't know if she should feel insulted of what the manager had said or grateful that he is willing to hire her. "Don't you care if I have any sort of experience whatsoever?"

"Nope. Like I said, we're desperate. You'll start the night shift tonight starting 6pm. See you here," the manager informed her before walking away.

Sharpay squealed in excitement for Gabriella but Gabriella just stood in shock. She can't believe she went from unemployed and then to employed again in just one minute. In fact, it's too good to be true.

"I can't believe she just gave me the job just like that," Gabriella commented.

"Are you going to pass up this one too? Again," Sharpay asked, irritated.

"No. I'm willing to take any job but I guess this is all moving too fast," Gabriella said.

"Fast like you and Troy? What is new between you two anyways? Is romance starting to develop?" Sharpay smirked.

"As if. We're just roommates," Gabriella said.

"But you're still getting married to him right?" Sharpay asked.

"I don't know exactly. We never talk much about it. Mostly because he's at work most of the time," Gabriella explained.

"You know, playing hard to get is a good way to get a guy. Maybe you and Troy might one day fall in love with each other," Sharpay said.

"What? Sharpay are you crazy?"

"I'm just teasing Gabs," Sharpay replied. "No need to get all up-tight. Unless you are starting to like him. I don't blame you. He's so hot!"

Gabriella shrugged in agreement, "I guess. One time, he went out of the bathroom shirtless. I have to admit it, he has really ripped abs," Gabriella said while remembering the time she and Troy almost collided with one another while Troy was walking out of the bathroom and Gabriella walking into her room with a handful of laundry. It didn't take a genius to know that Troy in fact has a really hot set of abs.

"Like Josh Duhamel hot?" Sharpay asked.

Gabriella nodded, "Hot."

Sharpay sighs dreamily, "Can you imagine you touching his ripped abs? I bet you'll like it," she teased.

"Oh shut up! I regret mentioning it to you at all," Gabriella said.

That night, Troy had just got back from a tiring day from work. His boss told him he has to come up with a song soon for an album. He has so many things going on in his head that he couldn't think of anything to write. He was having a total writer's block.

Troy was surprised that when he arrived at his apartment, it was dark and deserted. Usually Gabriella would be in the living room reading the newspaper to see if there were any jobs available for her. But apparently not today. He checked her bedroom door, but it was locked. Gabriella had even told Troy one day to not open her bedroom door without asking. She gave a reason that she needed some privacy.

He suddenly started to feel worried. _Had she left? _He entered the kitchen to see if there was a note whatsoever but there was nothing. _Where could she be? _Suddenly he heard the front door opening. He walked to find out who it was and to his surprise, it was Gabriella, wearing what it seems to be some kind of waitress uniform with a grocery bag in her hand.

"Were you catering or something?" Troy asked.

"No," Gabriella spat. "If you must know I have a job now as a waitress and when needed, an assistant chef."

"When needed?" Troy chuckled. "Did they taste your food and winced a little. Because if you don't know, that means they don't like your cooking," he said sarcastically.

"Funny. I guess that means I would be having dinner alone tonight because you don't know how to appreciate my cooking," Gabriella said when walking to the kitchen.

"What did you cook?" he asked eagerly while following her. Just because he made fun of her cooking didn't mean he didn't like it at all.

"I just learnt how to make curry chicken baked rice and I thought I'd give it a shot. The head chef made me some to bring home and all I have to do is heat it for a few minutes. The dish was actually meant for two but I guess you don't want to try it that leaves more for me," Gabriella said.

"Curry chicken baked rice? What kind of restaurant do you work at?" he asked.

"The Asian kind. Do you want some or not?" Gabriella asked.

"Sure. Let's have it," Troy said.

After heating the dish, Gabriella served it while Troy helped her taking out the plates his parents gave them and arranged it on the table neatly. While the dish was being heated, it started to smell so good; Troy's mouth began to water. He had to admit, he was excited to taste it.

When Gabriella was helping him serve his plate, he couldn't help but notice she was very thoughtful for him. She helped to serve Troy's plate and handed it to him nicely and not because she has to. Even though Gabriella and he fight almost constantly when they see each other, she was still nice to him no matter what. Maybe that was one of her good qualities about her. She never holds a grudge. After Troy tasted the curry chicken baked rice, he kinda like it. It was so delicious.

"So how was it?" Gabriella asked eagerly.

"This is awesome. You should bring more food home from work because this is just so delicious. You should so try it," Troy said with mouth full.

Gabriella giggled at Troy's actions and Troy smiled. The one thing he liked about Gabriella is how sweet her giggle is. He couldn't explain why but he just like it.

After taking a bite, Gabriella spoke, "So I haven't seen you almost every day this week. Busy at work?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to come up with a song by this month but I can't think of anything," Troy explained.

"Can't get inspired?" Gabriella asked sympathetically.

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm no songwriter but I think you just need to relax and wait for it to come to you. Sometimes when you don't know it, something will hit you and your problem will be solved," Gabriella solved.

"Thanks," Troy smiled.

Gabriella smiled back at him, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Gabriella took a deep breath before continuing, "Are we really going through with this?"

"With the marriage thing?" he asked. Gabriella nodded.

"To be honest, I don't know. I thought it will be easy to find my way out of this but I'm afraid it's much more complicated than that," Troy said truthfully. "My parents already started calling my relatives about the big Bolton wedding."

"How long do we have to carry on like this?" Gabriella asked softly.

"I don't know and I don't mind you leaving right now. Knowing my family, you will never find your way out. You'll be stuck here forever," Troy warned.

"So we are really going to get married?" Gabriella asked.

"If you don't want to, it's ok. I got you in so much mess right now," Troy said.

"Then I guess I'll have to go on with you. Even though we bicker a lot, you're my friend and friends help friends right?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled a little, "Yeah."

Troy felt like saying something else but he couldn't. He opened his mouth to say what he wanted but then he saw Gabriella opening her mouth too. "So, have you composed any song that you didn't show to the record company?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I got a lot of those. Mostly about my personal life," Troy answered.

"Can I hear one?" Gabriella asked.

"Why would you want to?" Troy asked back.

"Oh come on. I've never lived with a songwriter in my life. Please?" Gabriella asked.

Troy rolled his eyes, "Alright. But just the verse."

"Deal," Gabriella smiled.

Troy got up from his chair and then took his guitar and sat the same couch Gabriella was sitting at. He then started to play the strings of his guitar. "Ok, before I play, I would just like to warn you that I just wrote this song recently and it isn't finished or that good yet."

"I'll try to not make my ears bleed," Gabriella said jokingly and Troy started to singing.

_I'm no superman  
I can't take your hand  
And fly you anywhere  
You want to go, yeah_

_I can't read your mind  
Like a billboard sign  
And tell you everything  
You wanna hear but  
I'll be your hero_

Troy stopped playing and waited for Gabriella's reaction. She stayed silent for a moment before looking him. "That was…awesome," she admitted.

"Really?"

"Really. Your lyrics are so amazing. What makes you get inspired to write it?" Gabriella asked.

"Uh…" Troy stammered. The truth was, Troy wrote that song after Gabriella got fired from her job with her dad and he was feeling so guilty that he got inspired. He remembered him saying to her that he'll owe her a favour for being his fiancée and that he will be her hero. "It just came to me out of the blue," he lied.

"Well it's really good. Maybe you should finish it and show it to the record company. Who knows, it might be a big hit," Gabriella encouraged.

"I don't know. It's not even finish yet. We'll see how it goes," Troy said.

"You're a great songwriter, Troy. Don't ever doubt it. In fact, I'm a fan of yours already," Gabriella said, grinning. The silence started to fill the room. Neither Troy or Gabriella spoke. Then they turned to each other and stared into each other for moment. Troy didn't know why but he felt the need to give Gabriella a kiss but he decided not to because it would be weird. "Come on, I'll help you clean up after we eat," he said, breaking the silence.

Gabriella laughed a little and joked as she walked to the kitchen, "Does that make you feel like my hero or something?"

Troy blushed for a moment. _Did she know the truth behind the song? Of course not. She'll tell me right? Then again, she tends to keep secrets sometimes..._

_

* * *

_

**_Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring. I had trouble coming out with an idea with this chapter but I managed to write more than 2000 words._**

**_If you guys want any spoiler for this story, I can only say that Troy and Gabriella are in fact going to get married soon and that they will soon get surprised by an announcement made by one of them._**

**_Anyways, please REVIEW and tell me what you think of the story so far. =)_**


	12. Ready Or Not

Today, Troy and Gabriella were supposed to be expected to attend their engagement party held at the Bolton Mansion but instead they were going to have dinner as Troy knew that if there were an engagement party, Gabriella's family might have come and it would be very awkward for her to stay at a party where she didn't know anyone. Troy told his mother during a phone call when she called him about the guest list.

"_About the guest list, do you know anyone from Gabriella's side who will be attending the engagement party?" Lucille asked her son over the phone._

"_I think she'll be inviting few friends of hers," Troy answered._

"_What about her family?"_

_Troy paused for a moment. Should he tell his mother that Gabriella's father doesn't approve their marriage? If he did, Gabriella might be furious but if he didn't, everyone would think Gabriella doesn't have a supporting family during the party. Then again, perhaps her mother could keep a secret._

"_About that… Mom, I have to tell you something important regarding Gabriella," Troy said._

"_What's the matter?" she asked._

"_I didn't know if I should tell you this but . . ." then again, maybe he could twist the story a little bit. Gabriella will never know. She will eventually but for now he's good. "She actually had a job offer to China and she had to transfer there but when she was at the airport, I…uh...chased after her and told her not to go because I love her and then I…proposed to her," Troy lied. He distinctly remembered that there was this movie he used to watch where the guy chase the girl at the airport to tell her that he loved her. It was cheesy but it will have to do._

"_Aww, Troy. That is so romantic of you," his mother commented. "What happened to her job offer?"_

"_She uh…she got fired and now she is kind of unemployed. After that we came to her father about the engagement and he disapproves it. He said he didn't want to see Gabriella again," Troy said. Technically, that was the truth._

"_Oh my, that's awful. She doesn't have a job now and her father resent her? That is so sad. I'm so glad you two decided to move in with each other. She probably need you more than ever now," his mother said._

"_Yeah but you can't tell Gabriella that I told you. She's kind of sensitive about this thing," Troy said._

"_I promise. So I think we should just make this an intimate dinner with us. Is that going to be okay with you two? She'll won't mind right?" Lucille asked._

_Troy smiled. "She won't mind at all."_

Till now, Gabriella still hadn't known that Troy told his mother about Gabriella's father. She just assumed Troy told his mother that her father was just a little busy and couldn't make it. Maybe Troy should've told Gabriella the truth but he will soon. At least he thinks he will.

"Did your parents asked about why my family isn't coming?" Gabriella asked Troy while they were on their way to a fancy French restaurant.

"Didn't I tell you? This is intimate dinner. That's why we're going to a restaurant. Just you, me and my parents," Troy answered.

"What about your brother?" she asked.

"He decided to ditch this dinner. He's been busy with work and everything. Law isn't a day at a beach," Troy said.

"Is that the reason why you didn't want to work in law with your family?" Gabriella asked. She knew that Troy didn't want to be a lawyer but he didn't tell her why and she is curious to know.

Troy stayed quiet for a moment and then changed the subject, "We're almost there."

"Why didn't you answer my question?" Gabriella wanted to know. She remembered asking Troy the same question when they first met. He didn't answer then too.

"Because it's not necessary and it's my business, not yours," Troy replied.

"Well it's going to be my business too okay? After all, I am going to be the future Mrs Bolton," Gabriella said while pointing to the ring on her finger. "Besides, I'm might going to find out anyways. It's better to hear it from the source."

Troy rolled his eyes, "I just cracked okay?"

Gabriella didn't get it. "What do you mean?"

Troy took a deep breath, "I just hate it when people expect too much from me. Especially my dad. When me and James were little, my dad use to bring us to work for one of those 'bring your children to work' day. While over there, my dad practically expects us to become a lawyer like every Bolton man did. I just didn't like to be forced into something. When I told my dad that I have no intentions to go to law school whatsoever, he just lost interest in me and spend most of the time with his perfect son."

"Why aren't you the perfect son?" Gabriella asked.

"Because, I'm like the runt of the litter that who decided to make his own path instead of following others," Troy explained.

"You're not. You're more than a runt. I mean, you're an amazing songwriter and won awards for it. You should be proud of yourself. I use to be a total brat and people aren't afraid to say it to my face but I ignored them because I know who I am and I'm not afraid to show it," Gabriella encouraged.

Troy smiled. Gabriella did show herself as a brat but he didn't know how big of a brat she was. Whether or not, he was glad she encouraged him. No one did. "I don't know if that will help but thanks for trying," Troy said. "We're here."

Troy gave his keys to the valet and entered the restaurant with Gabriella by his side. To be honest, Troy was admiring how soft her hair looks at that moment. She had her hair in half up, half down do' and was wearing a simple silk red cocktail dress with a blazer to keep her warm with the night's weather.

"Troy, Gabriella, I'm so glad you made it," Lucille said, while hugging Gabriella and Troy.

"Of course we made it mom. You practically made us," Troy commented.

"I had a good reason to make you come to this dinner Troy," Lucille told his son. "Please sit first. Have a drink."

"Thank you," Gabriella smiled. "So what is the good reason?"

"Well, we just want to let you know that your wedding day has already been planned to the very last detail already," Lucille told them.

Troy and Gabriella almost choked when drinking their water. They weren't even thinking of planning a wedding at all. "You already planned the wedding?" Troy asked after catching his breath.

"But I haven't even gave you my share of the wedding or whatever," Gabriella said.

"We know. But it's already a Bolton tradition that us Bolton's help to plan the wedding. Don't you remember James' wedding Troy?" Jack asked.

"Yes Troy. How could you _not_ remember how your own brother's wedding went?" Gabriella said sarcastically while shooting daggers at Troy.

"No, no. I remember. There are just a lot of things going on right now and all of it is just moving too fast for me and Gabriella," Troy explained.

"That is why me and your mother already planned your wedding from top to bottom so you two won't have to worry about anything," Jack told his son.

"I'm sorry but I can't have you guys do all the work. Maybe it would be better if we wait like a year for me and Troy to raise the money on our own. Who knows what will happen by then? Right Troy?" Gabriella said.

"Yeah. Totally. It's our wedding. We'll plan it or whatever," Troy supported.

"No, no. It's already been done and you two have to follow the rules," Lucille informed them.

_Oh my gosh! What is wrong with these Boltons? Why must they go a step ahead of everyone all the time? I can't have a wedding. Especially when my dad isn't talking to me anymore. Who's going to walk me down the aisle? What if none of my family members decided not to show up? They would think I'm some kind of person without any supportive family. What am I going to do? _Gabriella thought in her head.

_Why must my parents be so persistent with the whole wedding thing? This whole Bolton family tradition is getting on my nerves. 'We do this, not that.' This is crazy. I can't be married to some person whom I just met. This is beyond crazy. Why must my life be so complicated? What am I going to do? _Troy thought in his head.

"Do I have to do anything in return after we…uh…get married? Like pay you back or something?" Gabriella asked before sipping her water.

"Well that depends," Lucille started. "Are you two planning of having kids after you're married? If so, how many do you think you'll have?"

Gabriella spits out her water and started coughing insanely. _Kids? Seriously, what is wrong with this lady?_

Troy helped by rubbing Gabriella's back, "Um…we haven't gone that far mom. Who knows when we might have a baby? Could take forever you know," Troy explained.

"Oh, I apologise. You're right. It is all up to you. We'll just get ready with all the planning. Before I forget, we already set up a date for the big wedding!" Lucille announced.

Troy's eyes grew wide opened. "Really? When is it?" _Don't say soon. Don't say soon. Say a year from now. Please._

"It's soon. Very soon. How's a summer wedding sound like?" Lucille answered.

"Summer? But…it's May. So that means…" Troy's voice drifted off.

"Yup! Your wedding will be exactly a month from now!" Lucille said excitedly.

Troy and Gabriella could have fainted at that very moment. They gave Jack and Lucille a fake smile and said:

"Wow!" Gabriella said.

"That's amazing," Troy continued.

"It's unbelievable. Really," Gabriella said truthfully.

"I know you two would be excited! Now we got that settled, Gabriella, maybe you could send us the addresses of the people you are inviting to your wedding. Like your friends and family members," Lucille suggested.

"What about I take care of it myself. I have a lot of time in my hands. I won't mind it at all. Really," Gabriella offered. The last thing she wanted to see at the so called 'wedding' is her family asking her why she had a quicky wedding.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. Troy could help me. He wouldn't mind. Right Troy?" Gabriella pleaded.

"Yeah. Totally. I won't mind at all," Troy said, not knowing what he had got himself into.

---

The next morning, the Montez-Bolton apartment was awakened by the sound of a person throwing up loudly in the bathroom. Gabriella groaned as she heard the sound of her roommate and soon to be husband vomiting early in the morning. She quickly got up and walked frustratingly to the bathroom where Troy is.

When she reached there, Troy was rubbing his forehead while standing in front of the medicine cabinet.

"Do you mind?" Gabriella asked. "One of us couldn't sleep last night and she was planning to wake up late today."

"Well excuse me, Miss Cranky Pants, for being sick," Troy spat back.

"Why did you throw up anyways?" Gabriella asked.

"How the hell should I know? Maybe it was something I ate or something," he answered.

"Maybe it was the dish you ate. I told you that you should get the chicken instead of the oyster," Gabriella said.

Before Troy could answer, he turned to the toilet and threw up again.

"Eww! Maybe you should get to a doctor. I'll drive you there," Gabriella said.

"Drive what? You don't have a car," Troy said.

"No. But you do," Gabriella smirked.

"No. You are not driving my car. She only obeys me and no one else. She might break down in the middle of the highway for all you know," Troy said.

"There's a nearby clinic about nine blocks from here. We could walk if you want," Gabriella said.

"Alright, alright. Fine, we'll take the car," Troy finally decided. "But I'm driving her back home."

"And stop calling it a her. She's just a car," Gabriella said.

"You leave all the naming and gender deciding to me alright, Montez," Troy said.

Gabriella winced at his sentence, "Geez, it's not like we're having a baby or anything. Or did your mother brainwash your head from yesterday's conversation."

"OUT!" Troy shouted.

* * *

_**Sorry I haven't updated last week. I have been really busy with school and stuff and have trouble writing this chapter. This chapter might suck a little but I swear, the next one will be juicy. Promise. :)**_

_**Please REVIEW!!**_


	13. We Deserve A Little Fun

"So your wedding is coming sooner than ever?" Sharpay asked in disbelief.

Gabriella nodded while biting her lip. She is still technically working but there were fewer costumers today that she could probably take a rest. Sharpay came just in time to not make Gabriella bore on the clock. "Yeah. We're getting married on June 14 at the Lux Hotel _(made up)_."

"Seriously? That is the one of the most expensive hotels in New York," Sharpay commented.

"Please, the Bolton family is so wealthy; the total of the wedding is the same amount of money in their back pockets. They live a life of luxury and everything they own is either brand new or totally vintage and expensive. I bet their maid and butler earns more than us," Gabriella said.

"In that case, I wouldn't mind working as a maid at all. Even if I have to wear those black maid outfits," Sharpay said. "Anyways, do you know what this means when you're officially Mrs Troy Bolton?"

"Ew! Mrs Troy Bolton? Those words make me want to vomit. Plus it makes him sounds like a sissy," Gabriella said. "Anyways, what _does_ it means?"

"It means, you Gabriella Montez, will be the wife to the son of one of the richest family in the state! You don't even have to work another day in your life because money just keeps on coming to you every time you breathe," Sharpay pointed out.

"Sharpay, there's more to me than money," Gabriella reminded her. "And besides, Troy practically doesn't want to do with his family at all. I don't blame him. I might've killed myself if my family told me I have to get married or else."

"But still. Wouldn't it be wonderful?" Sharpay asked.

"What's so wonderful about being a trophy wife? He might as well put me in a case and wipe me every single day," Gabriella sarcastically.

"G, all I'm saying is, just live in the moment for a while. Something good might surprise you sometimes," Sharpay advised.

Gabriella wasn't sure what Sharpay meant but she gave Sharpay a tiny smile.

"Hey Montez!" someone called. Gabriella turned around and sees that the head chef was calling her from the kitchen.

"Be right back," Gabriella told Sharpay.

"Never mind. I'm heading home anyways. See you soon okay?" Sharpay said.

"Bye." Gabriella walked to the kitchen to see the head chef. Usually when she was called in to the kitchen was either she had to help out in the kitchen or the head chef, Susan, have something delicious for Gabriella to bring home and eat.

"What's up?" Gabriella asked.

"Since it's been a slow day, I had time to whip you up some of my homemade dumplings made from scratch," Susan said while showing Gabriella the dish.

"Mmm…looks good. You don't have to do this," Gabriella said.

"I know but I want to. Plus, your _fiancée_ might like to try it," Susan smirked.

Gabriella was about to say she doesn't have a fiancée but then she noticed she was wearing the engagement ring Troy gave her. No arguments there.

Gabriella blushed, "Thanks."

"Where is this boy you've been keeping in the closet? He doesn't come here a lot does he?" Susan asked.

"He's been really busy with his job and he's at home right now sick due to food poisoning. He's much better now," Gabriella said.

"I see. Well it's a good thing I made these for you. You two should try it together," Susan said. "Do you want some wine to go with that? I have two bottles right now. I've been keeping it in the cupboard for almost a month now."

"I guess it'll be okay. I haven't had a drink in a while and I think we do need a drink right now," Gabriella commented.

"Stressed about the wedding planning?" Susan asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella answered.

---

Troy was now sitting at home tuning his guitar. He was glad that he got four days off. He didn't waste any of the four days to complete the song he was working on. He decided to go through with the song he sang to Gabriella the other day. Gabriella was right. The song is good and well-written. The bonus part, he's easily inspired by the song.

He finally finished the song and was playing it repeatedly to make sure it sounds excellent. While playing, he heard someone opening the door.

"I'm home!"

"Hey," Troy answered while still distracted by his song.

"I brought home dumpling and two bottles of wine," Gabriella announced.

Troy put down his guitar and watched as Gabriella served the dumplings on a plate, "I never had dumplings before," he admitted.

"Me neither but it smells nice," Gabriella said while biting the dumpling. "Oh my gosh, they are delicious!"

"What's with the wine?" Troy asked.

"I was thinking since we've been ultra stress lately, we deserve something to make us relax," Gabriella said.

"And wine is the way to make us relax?" Troy asked sceptically.

"Okay, maybe you didn't need a drink but I need one. You have no idea how stress I am nowadays. I just thought you would like some too," Gabriella said.

"Alright, alright. Let me get some glasses," Troy offered.

"What for?" Gabriella asked. "It's just the two of us. We can drink through the bottle. It's not like we're in a fancy restaurant or something. Besides, there are two bottles."

Troy didn't know how to react to Gabriella's answer. He has never met anyone who dares to drink wine from the bottle. Most of the people he knew drank it from a clear glass. He kind of like this side of Gabriella. Wild; but still annoying.

"Suit yourself," Troy shrugged while opening the wine bottle and then drank it.

"Aren't you going to try the dumpling?" Gabriella asked.

"Maybe later. Just ate," Troy answered.

Gabriella then noticed the guitar beside the couch. "Did you finish writing a song?"

"Yup. Just finished it. I'm going to show it to the record company once I get to work," Troy said.

"Can I hear the song?" Gabriella asked.

"Why not," Troy shrugged and took his guitar. "I'll just play the chorus and the bridge for you." He then took the sheet of music and gave it to Gabriella, "Here are the lyrics."

_Cause I, I can be everything you need,  
If you're the one for me,  
like gravity,  
I'll be unstoppable,  
I, yeah, believe in destiny,  
I maybe an ordinary guy with heart and soul,  
But if you're the one for me,  
Then I'll be a hero_

_So incredible,  
Some kind of miracle,  
When it's meant to be,  
I'll become a hero, oh  
So I wait, wait, wait,  
Wait for you!  
I'll be a hero_

"Wow. You really finished the song. The lyrics sound so cool. I can't wait to listen to the whole thing. Of course, I will the first to listen to it right?" Gabriella asked.

"I guess."

"Good. Anyways, what was that other song you've been working on that you were planning to give to the record company?" Gabriella asked.

"Oh that. I got stuck in between the song. I didn't even finish it at all. Do you want to listen to it?" Troy offered. Gabriella nodded excitedly while drinking her bottle of wine and Troy starts to play.

_All my life people telling me just who I am  
They don't wanna know  
They don't really understand  
Too many people trying to tell me to be practical  
Only think that I am one dimensional  
But I can feel it there's a fire raging underneath  
Running through the pages  
Here I am coming clean  
I'm sick of lying to myself  
Gotta live the truth  
Now I got to do what I got to do_

_This is where I should be  
There ain't no other place yeah  
Where my soul really speaks  
There ain't no other way  
I can feel it save me move me change me  
Gotta go where the music takes me  
Let It set me free  
You've got to Believe_

Gabriella noticed the way he was playing his guitar. He looks angry and frustrated and the words are just so meaningful. She had to ask, "Is that song about…your family?"

"The song is to my dad," Troy corrected her. "Always in my life I never did enough to make him proud of me."

"Maybe he just wants you to do what's the best for you," Gabriella said.

"The best for me would be him leaving me as I am," Troy said while drinking his wine.

Gabriella fell silent, "At least your dad still talks to you," she finally said.

Troy felt her pain. Gabriella's father hasn't even had any contact with her for weeks. It is really inconsiderate of him to just let go of his daughter like that and Gabriella never talks to him about her father at all.

"So…are you going to invite him to the wedding?" Troy asked.

"I think I will. He is my dad. Who else is going to walk me down the aisle? Unless he decides to not come then…I'll just have to walk down the aisle myself," Gabriella answered.

"I'm really sorry for putting you into this mess. Trust me, if I knew this would happen, I would never—" Troy was cut-off by Gabriella.

"Hey, I thought we were over apologising?" Gabriella reminded him.

"I know but I still feel kind of guilty," Troy said. "Is there any huge favour I can do for you so we're even?"

Gabriella thought about for a second. She honestly didn't know what she wants in return. Of course there is one that could benefit her and Troy. "You could try to create a wedding that we want and not what your parents want," Gabriella suggested. "Like, you should ask your parents to let us take charge since it's going to be our wedding. We won't have to do the big boy stuff. Just stuff like, the wedding colour theme, the colours of the flowers, the type of flowers, all the small things we can do so we won't be so surprised when it's the wedding day."

"I guess I could try to ask," Troy shrugged.

"Good. Maybe we can start having a rough idea what the things would look like. For example, roses or daisies?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know…roses?"

"I prefer daisies. Moving on—"

"Hold up. I thought it's going to be our decision?" Troy pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm still in charge and you still have to listen to everything I say," Gabriella said. Suddenly she started to laugh randomly.

Troy chuckled at her laughter, "What's so funny?"

"I find it funny that we're getting married. Us. Two people who met at a tiny café are actually going to tie the knot because you are afraid to tell your parents the truth and wanted to escape from an arranged marriage," Gabriella said while bursting into laughter again. Troy could tell that she's starting to become drunk but he was honestly getting drunk as well so he might as well join in.

"Yeah. This time next month, we're going to be the Mr and Mrs Troy Bolton," Troy said.

Gabriella laughed again, "You said Mrs Troy Bolton. You're a girl!"

Both of them laughed hysterically, obviously drunk by the amount of wine. If Troy could think straight, he might find it weird that how strong the wine is to make two people get drunk so fast.

They started talking about senseless stuff and began to laugh more and more till the bottle of wine is finished to the bottom.

"Oh no! The wine is finished," Gabriella said, drunk.

"Oh well. You'll just get some tomorrow then," Troy said which made both of them laugh uncontrollably.

"You want to know a secret?" Gabriella asked. "I've always secretly sort of like you more than a friend. In fact, I think you are hot."

"Really? Well want to know my secret? I think your pretty hot yourself. One time you forgot to take close your bedroom door, I watched you changing your clothes while you're naked. I have to say you are very sexy."

Gabriella gasps, "You did?!" then stopped, "So how sexy was I?"

"_Victoria Secret_ model hot," Troy answered.

"Well that is the most sweetest thing ever! I think your abs should be on a_ Calvin Klein_ poster somewhere in Manhattan," Gabriella said, laughing. "Oh! Remember that kiss we had in the closet of my work place? I know I said I hated it, but I actually enjoyed it. You are a good kisser."

"Really? We'll do you want to kiss me right now? I'm available. It's not like I'm dating or anything," Troy said, laughing as well.

"Seriously?" Gabriella asked.

Troy answered by kissing her lips tenderly. Gabriella could taste the wine in his lips and kissed Troy as well. Slowly, Troy's lips moved to Gabriella's neck and he began to kiss them roughly but at the same time smoothly. Troy felt his head spinning but he didn't care. He then moved his lips back to Gabriella's lips while she played with his hair thoroughly. One thing led to another, everything went on very fast…

**_To be continued…_**

_

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_

_**So was that juicy enough for you? What kind of situation will Troy and Gabriella find themselves in?**_

_**I guess you will have to wait for the next chapter.**_

_**I will post the next chapter soon when I get enough reviews. :)**_

_**So, PLEASE REVIEW!!**_


	14. Trying To Remember

The morning sunlight rises in the apartment of Montez-Bolton. The light started to shine in a room where Gabriella is sleeping in a bed. She was already half-awake with a major headache. She started stirring in bed and found something in front of her quite warm. She assumed it was a pillow so she simply pushed the pillow to the floor. After pushing the pillow, she heard a 'thud' sound. It definitely did not sound like a pillow at all. More like a person.

"OW!"

Gabriella opened her eyes and sat up. She realized she was not in her room. The room she was in was white and a total mess. Then she realized she was not wearing any clothes at all. She quickly covered herself up with the blankets.

"Who's there?" she asks.

"Who else do you think it is," said the voice. The voice sounds frustrated and irritated.

_Troy? _Gabriella couldn't remember how she ended up in Troy's room. In fact, she couldn't remember what happened last night at all. All she remembered was coming home, ate a dumpling and then everything was all blank. Could she be sleepwalking last night? Why would she be naked and why was she in Troy's room at all?

"Why did you push me of the bed?" Troy asked while getting up. Then he realized something. "Why are you in my room?"

"I don't know," Gabriella answered, panicking.

"What happened last night?" Troy asked still on the floor while rubbing his forehead.

"I don't know," Gabriella answered again.

"All I remembered was that we were talking about the wedding and then it all went blank," Troy said.

"I can't remember last night at all. Was I sleepwalking?" Gabriella asked him.

"How should I know," Troy answered while standing up. He obviously didn't realize he was naked too.

Gabriella closed her eyes shut. "WHOA! Cover yourself up. Please," Gabriella begged. The last thing wants to see in the morning is Troy's private part.

Troy blushed and quickly took his boxers he found on the ground. While Troy was wearing his boxers, Troy and Gabriella noticed the amount of clothing on the floor. Then the memory of last night came to their heads.

_Troy and Gabriella were still making out and putting their tongues inside each other. Both were out of breath but they didn't stop. Gabriella was on top of Troy, rubbing his abs underneath his shirt. Troy pulled back, feeling the pleasure of Gabriella rubbing his body. Gabriella on the other hand was kissing his neck thoroughly._

"_Should we have sex?" Troy asked drunkenly._

_Gabriella pulled back and shrugged, "Why not."_

_With that, Troy carried Gabriella who was still on his lap and he slowly walked while kissing Gabriella's lips. While walking, he pushed Gabriella to a wall and kissed her hard while playing with her hair. After that, Troy walked and was about to open Gabriella's bedroom but she stopped him._

"_NO! Not my bedroom," Gabriella said._

"_Why not?"_

"_I have a secret keeping in there and I don't want you to see it until our wedding day. Shh…" Gabriella said while putting her finger in front of her mouth. She was super drunk._

_"What is it?" Troy asked._

_"It's the wedding dress i have been secretly designing silly. I just don't want to let you know because it's just too embarrassing," Gabriella chuckled.__ "Let's go to your room."_

"_Ok," Troy answered and kissed her lips._

_When they finally reached Troy's room, they started to take each other's clothes off quickly. Gabriella was the first one to take off Troy's shirt so she could get the full view of Troy's body. Troy laid Gabriella on his bed and started to take off the dress she was wearing. He then started to kiss her shoulder smoothly as she takes off his pants._

"_Mm…Troy…" Gabriella moaned. Troy then moved his lips to Gabriella's so he could kiss her again. He then slowly moved his hand down so he could remove her bra and then her underwear. Gabriella then started to remove his boxers so they could start making love.  
_

_Troy pulled back and stared at Gabriella for a moment, admiring her eyes deeply. Even though he was very drunk, he needs to be sure that she's okay with it. "Are you sure?" he asked._

_Gabriella nodded and started to kiss his jaw and then his lips. Troy then starts to move his pelvis into her. She started to moan even more as he thrusts more and more._

They both gasped at the same moment. Now they remembered what happened last night. They had sex! They had drunken sex. They were in a state of shock that they didn't know what to do next. Gabriella then broke the silence.

"I have to go now," Gabriella said. Then she realized she can't reach any of her clothing at all. "Mind if I borrow your blankets for a while?" she asked awkwardly.

"Go ahead. I was planning on changing it anyways," Troy answered.

"Thanks. Um…do you mind passing me my clothes on the floor?" Gabriella blushed.

"Uh…yeah…here," Troy said while picking up Gabriella clothes and handing it to her.

"Thank you," Gabriella said while leaving his room. She has never been in a more awkward situation before in her life. She can't believe she had sex with Troy. She sure wasn't planning it. Then she remembered the wine she drank last night. The wine must've been really strong. She swore she has never gotten so drunk in her life. Gabriella went to her private bathroom and looked herself in the mirror. She noticed that there was a hickey on her neck. Thank god it was at the lower part of her neck. If not, it'll be totally obvious.

She walked back to her bedroom to pick out the clothes to wear and stumbled on the mannequin that was wearing a long with dress. It was her wedding dress she designed and was planning to wear on her wedding day. She has been designing it during the time she didn't have a job. Since she has so much spare time, she thought that she might as well do something to kill time. She was really proud with the design. It's white and strapless and really simple. It also has lace covering the dress and a ribbon above the waist to hold it into place. It was the most wonderful dress she ever designed and she was proud of it.

She only hoped Troy forgot that she told him that she was designing her own wedding dress. It will be embarrassing if Troy brought it up.

Meanwhile, Troy scratched his head, trying to think. _How did we end up sleeping together? _He asked himself. As hard as he tries to remember, he could remember anything that happened besides them having sex. Troy then felt something below his butt. He checked and found Gabriella's black bra sitting in his bed.

He should return it but he was feeling hesitant to do so. If he returned it, it'll be more awkward than before. But if he didn't, and Gabriella found out, she might think Troy is some kind of pervert. He decided to keep it somewhere nobody could find it. Besides, no one ever goes in his room. Gabriella practically boycotted herself from entering his room. That is, until last night.

---

"You slept with him?!" Sharpay exclaimed.

Gabriella visited Sharpay at her apartment. She needed someone to tell about her drunken night with Troy. "It's not like I want to. It just happened. Ugh! My head is still spinning," Gabriella said.

"That's some wine you brought home yesterday. Where did you get it?" Sharpay asked.

"The head chef gave it to me yesterday. She gave me two bottles, one for me and one for Troy. Sharpay, what am I going to do now? I don't know how to face him again tonight," Gabriella said.

"What if tonight he comes to you and says that yesterday was one of the best nights he ever had?" Sharpay asked amusingly.

"You have been watching too much romantic movies. If I know Troy exactly, he's not one of those movie types of romantic heroes you admire so much. He's different," Gabriella said.

"Good different?" Sharpay smirked.

"I don't know," Gabriella whined.

Sharpay laughed, "Did you two remember to use protection?"

Gabriella sat up, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh come on. You know how it is sometimes. Two people getting drunk and having sex. Some of those people might end up being pregnant," Sharpay explained.

"Pr-pregnant?" Gabriella panicked.

"So you didn't use any protection?" Sharpay asked again. Gabriella shook her head. _Oh my gosh. What if I ended up pregnant? That would be so bad. What am I going to do?_ "Ok, Gabriella just relax. You don't have to panic right now."

"Don't have to panic? You told me that there's a possibility that I am going to be pregnant. What am I going to do?" Gabriella said.

"Look! We don't know for sure. Maybe you should take a pregnancy test to be sure," Sharpay said. "I still have one in my room."

Gabriella grew suspicious, "Why do you have a pregnancy test?"

"Remember the time I got freaked out because I was late? Well, I bought a lot of pregnancy tests but it turns out that I'm not pregnant after just one stick," Sharpay explained.

"Ahh…" Gabriella said trying to sound interested. "But are you sure? Maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves."

"It doesn't hurt to try. Are you coming?"

---

"So you slept with her?" Chad asks Troy.

Troy called Chad to come to the apartment because he needed to tell someone about his night with Gabriella. He would've talked to Gabriella about it but it will be too awkward. They avoided each other in the morning before Gabriella decided that she was talking a walk.

"Not intentionally but yeah, we kind of did," Troy answered.

"Oh man, you're screwed," Chad said.

"I would have fought back but I am having a major migraine. How am I going to face her now?" Troy asked.

"You should make the first move. Break the ice or whatever. Why do you find it so awkward anyways? You are getting married in a month now," Chad said.

"I don't know man. It felt weird but at the same time…right," Troy admitted.

"Do you remember anything else? I mean, before you two started to make out and went that far," Chad asked.

"All I remembered is me singing some songs to her and we talked about the wedding and then I also remembered us laughing a lot. After that, it all went blank. Like there's a block or something," Troy explained.

"Did you remember kissing her at all?" Chad asked.

"I think so," Troy said. Then suddenly he remembers something. He remembered him and Gabriella being really drunk and was laughing at something Gabriella said. Then he remembered telling Gabriella that he saw her changing her clothes when she forgot to close her bedroom door. After that, he started to lean in and kissed Gabriella. "I was the first one to kiss her. She asked if I was serious and I kissed her."

"Did you like it?" Chad smirked.

"I did. I did like it," Troy admitted.

"Does this means you finally have fallen madly in love with your fiancée?" Chad joked.

"That I'm not so sure. But I do know that when I was kissing her, it felt…right. Like I should've done it more often," Troy said.

"Dude," Chad started. "That's love. You're whipped and in love with Gabriella."

Troy didn't know how to fight back. Maybe it is true. Maybe the reason he felt good while kissing her was because he has fallen in love with her but he just didn't know it at the time.

"Even if I am, I don't think she'll want to," Troy finally said.

"You'll never know. She might be at her friend's house talking about how it felt while kissing you," Chad said.

---

"So how does it feel kissing Troy again?" Sharpay asked.

"Sharpay! Can we get back to something more important like the pregnancy test," Gabriella reminded Sharpay.

"Alright, alright. Hold your horses," Sharpay said. She then got up and walked to the bathroom counter where Gabriella's pregnancy test was. She held it up and faced Gabriella. "Are you ready to hear the news?"

"Sharpay, you know I hate suspense," Gabriella said.

"Alright then. You're pregnant," Sharpay said.

Gabriella eyes opened wildly and she could feel herself stopped breathing. She was freaking out. She's pregnant with child. She was pregnant with Troy's baby. What was she going to do? How is Troy going to react? Will Troy be there for her? Will he just leave her?

Then she heard her friend laughing hysterically. "Sharpay? Why are you laughing? This is serious," Gabriella said.

"Relax, G. I was kidding. See?" Sharpay said while she shows Gabriella the pregnancy test. It says negative.

"I'm not pregnant?" Gabriella reassured.

"No silly. I can't believe you actually fell for that," Sharpay said, still laughing. "What were thinking when you were silent? How happy you will be with Troy and your new baby? Hah!"

"I am never coming to you again for anything ever again Sharpay," Gabriella said.

---

That night, Troy was watching TV when Gabriella entered the apartment door. It's already late and Gabriella would have expected Troy to be asleep already but Troy actually waiting for her to come home.

"You're still awake?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you about…last night," Troy said.

"What more is there you want to ask?" Gabriella asked nervously.

"I don't know. Um…" Troy didn't know what to say. He really didn't know what to say at that moment. He can't just walk up to her and ask if she liked kissing him. He might get a slap on his face. "Which song did you like better?" he finally asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Which song that I sang yesterday did you like better? Hero or the second one?" Troy asked again, secretly kicking himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Uh…I guess I liked the first one since you didn't finish the second one," Gabriella answered.

"Thanks. I just wanted to make sure that I did the right thing writing the song," Troy said.

"Ok. Well good night," Gabriella said.

"Goodnight…"

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**_Hey! I have to ask, was the sex scene any good? I'm still working on how to write one and that is the best i can do._**

**_Well i hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! :)_**

**_PLEASE REVIEW!!  
_**


	15. The Big Day

_One month later…(sorry for the big skip but it just how it goes)  
_

It was a Saturday evening and it was a beautiful day in New York. It was a perfect day to spend time outdoors and admire the fresh air but unless you're getting married, you're nowhere near the outdoor. Try in an extravagant hotel room where the toilet is solid gold. Today is the official wedding of Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. Friends and family have all arrived and gathered at ceremony ready to witness the couple as they wed in front of their very eyes.

Gabriella gulped at her reflection. The day has finally come for her to actually marry Troy. The guy that found her book and told her that he will only give it back to her if she did him a favour. A favour that she was still doing. A favour that she might have to be in for the rest of her life.

Though her nervousness, she have to admit, she looks good in the wedding dress she was wearing which she also designed herself. It's a long white strapless dress which reminds her of her mother's wedding dress.

With nervousness, there is sadness. Sadness about the fact that her own father isn't attending her wedding. He had the reason to be mad at her but isn't this taking it too far. The least he could do was call her to say he isn't coming but instead, he only gave her an empty RSVP reply. But Gabriella was glad that some of her family was coming. Like her grandparents and some other relatives she knew. She had to admit, her family was smaller compared to Troy's. Troy had many relatives coming and yesterday at the rehearsal dinner and that was only half of them while Gabriella only decided to invite her friends only.

While smoothing the wrinkles of her dress, she started to really have cold feet. She told herself that she isn't going to be one of those runaway brides in movies or television. She was going to be a beautiful bride about to get married to her…prince charming.

Gabriella literally felt sick when referring Troy as her prince charming. In fact, she had felt sick for the past few days but she chose to ignore it. She has been having fever and dizziness but Mrs. Bolton told her it just might be caused by her stress towards the wedding. Gabriella decided to go along with it. She absolutely had no time to get sick whatsoever.

"Oh my gosh! You look so beautiful!" Sharpay said after she entered the room.

"Shar! Close the door! Troy's room isn't that far. He might see me," Gabriella ordered her.

"Someone's excited," Sharpay said sarcastically. "But seriously, as your maid of honor and best friend since forever, you look so beautiful! Great job designing your own wedding dress. Remind me to let you design it when it's my time. Which speaking of, when you're throwing the bouquet, try not to throw it to my direction. I don't think I want to get hitched just yet."

"I can't believe you believe in all of that superstitious crap," Gabriella said while adjusting the veil on her head. "I didn't catch any bouquet and I'm getting married."

"That's because fate has different way of telling you when you're going to marry," Sharpay explained.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Right, fate brought me and Troy together at a small little coffee shop that has way too many tables to fit its size."

Before Sharpay could talk again, the door swung open again and revealed the wedding planner, Molly. Molly is a middle aged woman who is divorced and sometimes throws a fit at random wedding stuff. Like the first time Troy and Gabriella met Molly, she had comments about everything they chose.

"_I think it's better if we put the dance floor in the middle, that way everyone can see it," Gabriella told Troy and Molly while walking into the dining area to have their reception._

"_Nah, I don't like it. Plus, there might not be enough space for the guests to sit. They might end up in front of a wall or something. I say we put it near the stage so people can also see and at the same time hear the music easily," Troy pointed out mockingly._

"_There's this thing called speakers Troy and people won't have to end up at a wall because if you haven't notice, this dining area is much bigger than our apartment," Gabriella pointed out._

"_Isn't it just sad?" Molly said suddenly. "First you're fighting about where to put the dance floor and then the next you'll be fighting on who gets custody of the fancy wedding China."_

"_Excuse me?" Troy asked, confused._

"_I'm just saying; marriage is a big step to chaos and money battle. When you still have the chance, you could just walk away from it so you won't have to suffer the power of a divorce lawyer," Molly said._

"_Thanks for the advice but I think we can agree on where to put the dance floor which is in front of the stage," Troy said while pointing it out to Gabriella._

"_Fine, put it there but I'm picking out all the rest of the wedding stuff," Gabriella declared._

"_Oh, so does this mean you're on your way to become bridezilla?" Troy asked sarcastically._

"_All you men are the same. One minute you say 'I love you' and then the next you say 'I want a divorce'," Molly added randomly. Then she pulled Gabriella's elbow and whispered, "It's not too late, you know."_

"_Thanks but maybe I should listen to my fiancée. He is after all suppose to do as I say. Right, baby?" Gabriella said reminding Troy of their deal._

"_You know what, fine. Put your little dance floor in the middle of the room. Don't come and blaming me when our guests are complaining about their seating arrangements," Troy fought back._

"_I knew you'll agree with me," Gabriella smirked then turned to Molly. "Did you get that?"_

"_Absolutely. I love the idea," Molly agreed. "Way to show him who's boss."  
_

That was the first time Gabriella saw Troy throwing tantrum. He never yelled at anything since Gabriella met him. She felt guilty for it but Gabriella knew he was being cranky because it didn't go the way he wanted.

"You're both on in three minutes," Molly reminded them. "Time to go."

"Oh my gosh, this is really happening isn't it?" Gabriella asked nervously. "I'm actually getting married."

Sharpay grabbed Gabriella's bouquet of flowers and held it in Gabriella's hands, "Breathe Gabriella. You'll get through this. When Troy sees you, he'll see the beautiful woman he's marrying. Not the woman who he had a favor with," Sharpay encouraged.

Gabriella smiled, "Thanks Sharpay. You're the best."

"LADIES! We only have two minutes, let's move!" Molly shouted.

"Let's do this," Gabriella said.

Meanwhile at the ceremony located at the first floor, guests have already gathered anxiously while waiting for the bride to make her appearance. They weren't the only one waiting anxiously. The groom, aka Troy, is also nervous what was about to happen or will happen.

He's worried that Gabriella would not come out because she doesn't want to be married and then tell everyone the truth. He's worried that Gabriella suddenly decided that she couldn't handle all the lies and then quits. He's worried that after they were married, she decided to run off.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "You alright?" his best man, Chad, asked.

"I guess I'm just anxious," Troy answered.

"Chill out man. She'll be here. She won't run off," Chad said, as if reading his mind.

"How do you know? You've never been married and perhaps as we speak, she might be in a cab right now, running off," Troy whispered panicky. While panicking, he was completely oblivious to the music of the wedding march.

"Then why is she walking down the aisle right now?" Chad asked while pointing to Gabriella who was making her way down the long aisle.

When Troy laid his eyes on her, he couldn't take it off. He had to admit, she looked so beautiful and stunning in her wedding dress. She had her hair half up and half down and she looked like she's trying to look happy. Although he didn't know Gabriella that long, he could easily tell if anything was bothering her by looking at her facial expression. It was like he could read her mind.

Troy gave her a small smile and she smiled back at him. He knew exactly what was bothering her. He needs to make sure she was okay. After arriving at the front, Troy held out his hand and lead Gabriella in front of the priest. As the priest started talking, Troy started to whisper to Gabriella.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Gabriella didn't know what Troy was trying to do but decided to play along. "I guess. Why?"

"Well you look like something's wrong," Troy answered. "It is because of…your dad not being here? Because I am so sorry about that-"

"Troy, you don't have to apologize for it. It's not your fault-" Troy cut off Gabriella.

"Yes it is. It's my fault your feeling sad," Troy argued.

"Well, let's just drop it for today. We can talk about it at our honeymoon tomorrow or whatever," Gabriella said.

Troy smiled a little, "Are you excited to head for our honeymoon?" he asked cockily. Gabriella hit his elbow playfully but still had a smile on her face.

"Troy? I repeat, do you take Gabriella Montez as your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest said, having a frustration tone in his voice.

"Sorry," Troy apologized. Troy was supposed to be ready for the question but he couldn't help but feel guilty about it. He was feeling guilty because it seems to him that he has trapped Gabriella in a marriage that she doesn't want. But the truth was, he really cared for her and wants to be there for her every step. Though he still is not sure his feeling towards Gabriella, he knew he wants to work the marriage out.

"I do," he answered and looked at Gabriella.

"Gabriella, do you take Troy Bolton to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the priest asked Gabriella.

Gabriella hesitated for a moment which causes a tiny commotion.

"Did she panic?" a guest whispered.

"I think she has stage fright or something," another a guest said.

Gabriella felt like throwing her high heels at the two women gossiping about her. She was just making a dramatic pause. Or she is trying to. "I do," she answered.

"May we have the rings?" The priest announced and Troy and Gabriella took the rings respectively from their best man and maid of honor.

After saying their few vows, the priest finally announced, "By the power vested in me, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Troy Bolton. You may now kiss the bride."

Troy and Gabriella stared at one another. Do they really have to kiss with people applauding in the same room. Troy noticed Gabriella looking at him as if asking him if they should really kiss. Troy gave a small nod and leaned in closer until he reached Gabriella's lips. He has secretly been waiting long for the day that he would kiss Gabriella again. There was something about the kiss that makes Troy's stomach turn and gave him butterflies.

Before they kissed, Gabriella told herself to just pull herself together for the kiss. When Troy kissed her, she felt his hand on the back of her neck while he kisses her softly and then pulled back. Something about the kiss makes her feel very dizzy. Or is it real?

Suddenly, Gabriella felt the sudden urge to throw up. She stopped herself reminding herself it was just her wedding nerves getting to her and that's it. She didn't know how wedding nerves could make her feel so sick.

"Gabriella, are you okay? You seemed pale," Troy asked.

"I'm okay. Just nervous that's all," Gabriella answered.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." After that, she really felt sick and really felt like puking, "We need to leave because I think my nerves are getting to me."

Troy and Gabriella then quickly made their way out of the room and then Gabriella quickly ran to the bathroom while holding her gown. Troy almost followed Gabriella to the bathroom when he realized that she was going into the girls' bathroom.

"So I'll just wait for you out here," Troy talked to himself.

* * *

_**Hey! So how was it? Sorry if the wedding part sucked but this is my first time writing a wedding scene so I'm still learning. Go easy on me.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!!**_


	16. Attitude Adjusment Starting Now!

_**OMG! I cannot believe I managed to get 200 reviews in 15 chapters! You guys are the best! Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)**_

_**

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**_

After every wedding, there is one event every newlyweds look forward to. That is having a romantic honeymoon away from family and friends. Troy and Gabriella really needed the holiday. They have so stressed out lately; they barely even talked to each other at all.

Today, they were getting ready to head to the airport so they could start having their honeymoon in Paris, France. It was Gabriella's idea to go there since she needed to have a shopping experience to clear her head after the events happening to her in such a short period of time.

Gabriella was still a little sick from throwing up and Troy suggested to just staying home but she still insisted on going to France. Troy had told her to visit the doctor before leaving but she still refuses. Troy had to admit, Gabriella can be very stubborn at times.

"Are you ready yet?" Troy asked frustratingly. He was waiting for Gabriella to finish packing so they can leave but for some reason, she didn't pack in advance.

"I'm coming!" Gabriella said while dragging her luggage out of her room. Troy noticed the size of the luggage. It was much bigger than his. He wondered what she kept in there. "Ready!"

"Did you happen to pack your whole room?" Troy asked sarcastically.

"Very funny," Gabriella said while eyeing Troy evil-ly. "Soon I will be the one who's laughing at you because I'm not the one who's going to drag this luggage around."

"You can't make those French people carry your luggage for you all the way to the hotel," Troy pointed out.

"I wasn't referring to them," Gabriella smirked as she puts on her coat and left the apartment.

"Brat," Troy mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that!"

Troy rolled his eyes as she exit the apartment with Gabriella locking the door. "Why do you need to bring so much stuff anyways?" Troy asked.

"Why do you need to bring your guitar?" Gabriella asked him back.

"Hey, who knows if I magically get inspired while on the trip and before you know it, it'll be a big hit," Troy said.

"Well, I brought many clothes because…well, I just need it. You'll never know what event I might end up to. I pack every outfit for every type of occasion. For example, like going to beach or staying by the pool of the hotel, going to the Eiffel tower and shopping in the streets of Paris…" Gabriella said.

"That's a lot to cover for only three days. Aren't you even planning to sleep?" Troy asked.

"Who needs sleep when you're in one of the most amazing places in the world? I might not even go to sleep when we arrive there. I am just so excited!" Gabriella said.

"I'm just glad we don't have to follow a tourist group. That way, we'll get more freedom to do whatever we want and not look like tourist with big cameras," Troy said.

"That reminds me, did you bring a camera?" Gabriella asked.

"Why do we even need a camera for?"

"Troy, it's important to take pictures when you're on a holiday. It's like a tradition. Besides, your mother might want to see some pictures of her son in his first honeymoon," Gabriella replied.

"Why would she bother? She's been to France more than ten times already," Troy pointed out.

"Troy, for once, can you just let something go? Every time I say something, you have always found a way to fight back. Maybe you do need this vacation," Gabriella said.

He could have fought back but that would be Gabriella's point. He didn't really realize that he was always fighting back. It just came natural to him. Maybe it was the anger he kept during the 18 years living and breathing in the same place as his parents.

"Are you sure you're okay? You threw up a lot yesterday," Troy asked.

"I'm okay. In fact, a little hungry right now. Maybe we could get some snacks while at the airport. I'm in the mood for burgers. Maybe it was just nerves yesterday. I do tend to throw up when I nervous," Gabriella said. "Why? Have you been so concerned with your wife?" she smirked.

"Hey, I'm practically responsible for you now," Troy smiled.

"Right, all because of the rings on our fingers," Gabriella pointed out.

Troy had to laugh. Who knew just two small rings (and a wedding certificate) could bring two people together officially.

While on the plane, Gabriella kept asking if there were any airline snack she could eat because the snacks she brought on board were already opened and finished by her alone. Troy didn't know that Gabriella actually had a big appetite. He usually finds those kinds of girls kind of hot because even he couldn't stand watching a person eating salad right in front of his face.

Also during the flight, Troy did some thinking. He thought that maybe they could try to work out the relationship as more than two people being forced to be married because of a favor. Maybe this vacation could help them bond more so they could get use to married life. He also had some fun with Gabriella on the flight like playing some games and making fun of people sleeping with their mouths open. He had never laughed so hard in his life.

He needed a way to tell Gabriella that he really wants them to be more than just friends even though they're already married. But he's afraid how she might answer him. What if she doesn't want to really be with him? What if one day, she can't handle all the lies happening, she decided to divorce him?

Then he thought of something. Maybe he did something to make Gabriella fall in love with him; she'll want to make use of the marriage. It's brilliant! To start it off, he'll have to be a lot nicer to Gabriella so she'll see that he is not just Mr. Grumpy Pants all the time.

"Hey, do you need help with that?" Troy asked when she saw Gabriella struggling to get pull her luggage when they arrived in Europe.

"Thanks," Gabriella thanked him. "Maybe you're right. I did bring a lot of things on this trip."

"Well we're here now. It's not like you're going to throw some stuff away right? Maybe when we go shopping, we could find another luggage for you so it'll be lighter for each bag," Troy offered.

Gabriella squint her eyes, "Really? Or are you just messing with me?"

"No, really. I need to get you a wedding gift anyways so…"

"Well, thanks. That might work. Wait, what's the catch?" Gabriella asked.

"No catch. Just trying to be a good husband that listens to his wife, that's all. You know, even though we're just bluffing it," Troy said.

Gabriella nodded slowly, trying to sink in what just happened. Troy was actually being nice and thoughtful. Random. _Maybe it was just the French air, _Gabriella thought.

Weirdly to Gabriella, Troy has been super nice and caring to her while on their way from the airport to their hotel. Even when she was insulting or making fun of him, he just smiled and talked about something else. Something fishy is going on.

When they arrived at the hotel, they went to the counter to check in to their hotel room. They were greeted by the hotel manager at the counter who gave them their room keys.

"And here are your keys," the manager said while handing Gabriella the keys. "Are you two on your honeymoon?"

"How do you know that?" Troy asked.

"Well I see wedding rings and someone had sent a gift to your room this morning. It said to the new pair of Bolton," the manager answered.

_Mom,_ Troy thought immediately. There is really no stopping that woman with interfering with him._ She probably sent out a big white bear holding a heart that says Newlyweds on it. That would be so embarrassing to bring it home. That bear might be big enough to have an air ticket to be bought for._

"Well I hope you two enjoy your stay here and enjoy France," the manager said.

"Thank you," Gabriella said then she faced Troy. "I wonder what your mom gave us this time. Maybe it might be a big white bear holding a heart that says Newlyweds on it. Wouldn't that be just embarrassing to bring home? That bear might be big enough to have him buy an air ticket for him," Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella weirdly. Did she just say what he thought in his head? That was just plain weird. It's like she read his mind or something.

When they entered the hotel room, they didn't see the thing they were expected to see. There wasn't any bear in sight whatsoever. However, Troy did find a bottle of champagne and envelope on a coffee table which says: Gabriella.

"Hey, I think my mom wrote you a letter," Troy said.

"Really?" Gabriella said while opening the envelope with revealed to be a letter. It read:

_Dear Gabriella,_

_I want to welcome you again to the Bolton family. Your addition to this family is very grateful and we couldn't find a better person for our son to marry other than you. The reason for this letter is not only to finally welcome you to the family but this letter also contains some surprise especially for you. _

_Remember the time we talked about what we really wanted to do in our life? I always wanted to be a nurse and you said you wanted to be a wedding dress designer? And remember that you said you were thinking of buying a studio for yourself so you could start your collection? Well, brace yourself because I have bought the studio you wanted and I am giving it to you as a wedding present!_

_In addition to that, I have pulled a few strings to help you to debut your creations one day when you're done with your pieces. I have also provided every single thing you needed like fabrics and such so you won't have to worry about a single thing. If there is something missing, don't be afraid to call. Have fun in your honeymoon and send my love to Troy._

_Love, (your mother-in-law)_

_Lucille_

"Oh my god!!" Gabriella squealed. "Do you know what your mother just gave me?"

"A letter to welcome you to the family?" Troy guessed.

"More than that. She told me that she had bought the studio that I wanted for a long time and she is giving it to me so I can start making all my dresses!!" Gabriella answered.

"Really? That's great!" Troy said. _Score! Mom giving Gabriella something she likes is the first step to make Gabriella fall in love with me, _he thought.

"I know! This is totally making my day. I have a feeling that this trip is going to be so much fun. Don't you think so?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah. Who knows, things might get interesting and you might do something that surprises even yourself," Troy said.

Gabriella was still hopping up and down until she stopped and put her hand on her mouth. She also started to turn pale too.

"Are you ok? You don't look so good," Troy asked concernedly.

Gabriella didn't answer. She quickly ran to the bathroom at the corner and started to throw up in the toilet.

"Maybe you should've been to the doctors before we left," Troy said.

After flushing the toilet and washing her mouth, Gabriella spoke, "It's probably nothing. I also tend to throw up when I'm happy and excited. One time, when I found out that I won a chance to model for Ralph Lauren, I threw up in front of the casting manager and then she fired me because she thinks I have bulimia."

Troy nodded slowly, "You tend to throw up for a lot of things," Troy commented.

"Hey, it's not like I want to throw up all the time," Gabriella said. Suddenly she felt like vomiting again and kneeled down to the toilet to throw up.

Troy watched her throw up in disgust, "So do you know excited you're going to be for the rest of the trip? If we know sooner, maybe we could buy some portable barf bags for you just in case."

"Not funny," Gabriella said.

* * *

_**How was the chapter? Is it good enough to make you want to vomit? Haha. Joking.**_

_**But seriously, how was it? I need your reviews!**_


	17. Back From The Honeymoon

**_I want to take this time to thank to all those readers that has been with me through chapter 1. Thanks for enjoying my story and helping me to get over 200 reviews in just 14 chapters. :)_**

**_

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_**

Troy sighed heavily as he landed his body to his bed. He has never been so exhausted. He and Gabriella finally arrived home from their honeymoon. The honeymoon turned out to be really fun and exciting. Gabriella was mostly enjoying herself on the trip with visiting all the beautiful sites of France while Troy was busy doing everything to impress Gabriella.

When he said everything, he meant everything. He even made a list on how to get Gabriella to fall in love with him. It's ridiculous but jotting things down helped Troy to think.

_List to get Gabriella to fall in love me_

_1. Be nice to her. No matter what._

_2. Listen to her. No matter what.  
_

_ 3. Impress her with my 'talents'._

_ 4. Bring her to places she might like._

_5. Act like I know what I'm doing at anything._

_6. Bring her to some place romantic and fancy so she'll know I'm doing it for her._

_7. Tell her that she looks nice (not beautiful but just nice because we have to take baby steps in this.) randomly._

_8. If any of those don't work, after when we get back to New York, buy women's magazine and search for what do women like about in a man._

_9. Tell her the truth._

Unfortunately, most of the things on the list did not work one bit. He had a hard time being nice to Gabriella because she's too easy to make fun of. For example, one time she was too busy looking into the travel's guide that she walked hit a wall and fell down in front of people.

"_OW…" Gabriella said after hitting the wall._

"_Are you ok?" Troy said, trying to hold back his laughter._

"_Yeah, just a headache. Did everybody saw that?" Gabriella asked._

"_Yup. But don't worry. Many people are always looking forward to clueless tourists who can't keep their eyes out of the guidebook," Troy said, making fun of her._

_Gabriella scowled, "Thanks for making feel all better, Troy. You're an amazing husband," she said sarcastically while walking away._

Troy tried to take her to places she might love, like the Eiffel tower and he suggested walking there because it might be more fun that way and also because he wanted to use the map to try and find the Eiffel tower so Gabriella will be impressed by his sense of direction.

"_Alright, I think if we turn to our left, we might see the Eiffel tower…" Troy said while reading the map. He totally regretted not taking a cab. He had no idea to read a map whatsoever. Whenever he's going to places he didn't know, he'll use the GPS in his car. Too bad he didn't bother to buy a portable one._

"_Or, you can just look up and then you can see the Eiffel tower," Gabriella told him while pointing to the direction._

_Troy looked up and saw the tall tower just a few blocks away, "Oh yeah. I knew that. I was just testing you," he lied._

"_Yup, sure you are. You certainly have a good sense of direction," Gabriella said sarcastically._

Troy also suggested to bring her to dine in at a French restaurant he heard about that was luckily near their hotel. He told Gabriella to dress formally because it was a fancy five-star restaurant.

"_Hey, how about for dinner, we dine into that restaurant near the hotel?" Troy suggested, having high hopes she'll say yes._

"_Oh, you mean Maxim's Paris?" Gabriella asked._

"_Yup," Troy nodded._

"_Nah, I'm not that into French restaurant and their delicacies. I only like their sites and stuff. I rather stick to eating the hotel food instead. Much safer and much for Americans," Gabriella said and then walked away.  
_

"_Damn it," Troy mumbled to himself._

He even complimented Gabriella randomly during the sightseeing. He was so desperate to impress her; he added that on the list. The first time he started to compliment her was after they had lunch in a small café. They were seated outside and were waiting to pay the bill.

"_Isn't Paris just wonderful?" Gabriella asked Troy._

"_Yeah, I guess…" Troy said. He needed to say something fast and quick, "Hey, you look nice today. Is that a new shirt?"_

"_It's a dress, Troy. And thanks for complimenting me for no reason at all. Did you do something wrong?" she asked suspiciously._

"_Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to say you look nice that's all," Troy said._

"_Ahh…I get what you're trying to do," Gabriella said._

"_You do?" Troy said panicking. Did she already know? Did he make it too obvious?_

"_Yup. You don't want to pay the bill so you decided to that I should pay because you complimented me. Nice try, Bolton. But I don't get fooled that easily," Gabriella said._

_Troy breathed out. Thank god she didn't know. "You got me," he said, playing along. "You were too good for me. I guess I'll pay the bill myself."_

"_You bet your ass you better," Gabriella replied._

Troy couldn't believe it. He even had a hard time complimenting a person. He had to be the worst flirt ever! With almost all the things on his list is used, he decided to use number 8 on the list that is, _buy women's magazine and search for what do women like about in a man._ It was stupid but it'll have to do for the meantime.

He is also planning to write a song to Gabriella that has hints and things about his feeling about her. Gabriella seems to be really good at listening to lyrics. Maybe she'll also get the message he's trying to send to him.

Right now is the afternoon of the day he and Gabriella that just got back from their honeymoon. Gabriella's best friend, Sharpay is with her right now in the living room while Gabriella is giving her the souvenirs, showing her pictures and also telling her about the trip.

Troy is now on his bed trying to enjoy the softness of the bed. For two nights, he has been sleeping in either an aeroplane seat or the couch. Though they had the honeymoon suite, Gabriella told Troy to sleep to at the couch because…

"_We can't sleep in the same bed. It'll be too weird don't you think?" she asked._

Troy wanted to say that they had slept together in the same before but he decided to let it go because it would make things weirder than it is. Then suddenly, he felt thirsty and wanted to go to the kitchen to grab something to drink but at the same time he didn't want to interrupt Gabriella's conversation with Sharpay.

When he walked to the hallways, he stopped as he heard two girls squealing in excitement. He decided to hold his thirst and try to eavesdrop without getting caught.

Meanwhile in the living room, Gabriella and Sharpay were still discussing about the trip to France and Gabriella had also told Sharpay about the gift she received from Troy's mother.

"OMG! She actually bought you your own studio?!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"YUP! And guess what? Everything will already be readied for me. Like all the fabrics I need and all such and when my collection is complete, she's going to help me debut them!" Gabriella said. "How awesome is that?"

"Mega awesome! Ok, enough talk about your extravagant gift. I want to know all the details that happened to you and Troy during your romantic getaway," Sharpay said dramatically.

"Why would you want to know anything about it? Nothing really happened to be honest," Gabriella said.

"You two didn't sleep with each other again?" Sharpay asked.

"No. Why are you so concern?" Gabriella said.

"Well, sorry if I overstepped or anything but I was actually kind of expecting you tell me that you were starting to fall for him or something. I mean, you two have been gone for three days, isn't that enough for you guys to…I don't know…realised that you two are right for each other?" Sharpay asked.

"Sharpay, I told you a million times, Troy will never fall in love with me just because he had sex one time. Plus, I don't think I'm that interested in him that much," Gabriella said truthfully.

"Are you sure?" Sharpay asked.

"Positive."

"Well, did he ever like, do anything nice for you during the trip?" Sharpay asked again.

"Now that you mention it, actually quite a lot," Gabriella said and then she started to tell Sharpay about all the things Troy did and tried to do to her during the honeymoon.

"G? You are so oblivious. Troy has a major thing for you," Sharpay said.

Before Gabriella could answer, she felt the sudden urge to vomit again. She thought her vomiting days are over but apparently it came back. Without any word, she ran to bathroom and past through Troy but she didn't notice because she was already heading to the nearest bathroom.

Sharpay ran after her but then she saw Troy standing by the hallway.

"What are doing here? Have you been spying on us?" Sharpay asked suspiciously.

"No," Troy lied but managed to give a straight face. "I just want to head to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. What are you doing here?"

"I'm chasing after my best friend who is also your wife who suddenly had the urge of throwing up before she could argue with me," Sharpay answered sarcastically.

"Well don't bother chasing her again and again. She's been like this since before the wedding. She told me it was her nerves just getting to her. She even threw up a lot during our honeymoon. I asked to bring her to the doctor but she refused," Troy explained.

"Really?" Sharpay said. "That's odd…"

"What's odd?" Troy asked.

"Never mind. Go drink your glass of water or whatever it is you do at home," Sharpay said, chasing Troy away.

After Gabriella finished vomiting, she went through the medicine cabinet and drank some mouthwash. She didn't know what was wrong with her. Usually when she's sick, she'll heal the day after but this stomach flu, which she thinks she's having, is not going away.

"Hey G," Sharpay said startling Gabriella.

"Gosh Shar, don't you ever knock? You almost gave me a heart attack," Gabriella said.

"Yeah, whatever. Troy told me you have been throwing since before the wedding," Sharpay said.

"Yeah. So?" Gabriella asked.

"Have you seen a doctor about it?" Sharpay asked.

"No. But I think I'm going to do it soon," Gabriella said.

"Why don't we just go now," Sharpay said.

"Why now?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, I'll explain on the way. You said that there's a clinic nearby right?" Sharpay asked.

"Sharpay, do you know what's wrong me? You can tell me you know," Gabriella said.

"I don't know if I should scare you or anything but I think it will be a lot better coming from the doctor," Sharpay said.

"Sharpay, just tell me. What's wrong with me? Do I have some kind of disease or something?" Gabriella asked, already scared for her own life.

"Ok, don't freak out, but…I…I think you might be…pregnant."

* * *

**_CLIFFHANGER!!! Haha. So is Gabriella really pregnant or it is just some sickness?_**

**_Give me your thoughts by REVIEWING!_**

**_THANKS FOR READING!  
_**


	18. Will You Be There?

_**As requested, I managed to write this chapter as soon as I could. Hope you enjoy it!**_

"What? Pregnant? No way. I am so not pregnant. I took a test remember and it says negative," Gabriella debated.

"Well maybe you took it too early or sometimes the tests could be faulty and would tell it wrongly," Sharpay explained. "It happens to everyone all the time."

"So you're saying I'm pregnant?" Gabriella inquired.

"Well, have you had your period recently?" Sharpay asked.

Gabriella thought about it. To be honest, she hadn't had her period yet and it's been 2 months now. She's been so stressed out with her father, Troy and the wedding, she didn't realised she was late. In addition to that, she's been throwing up a lot and having some cravings. Could Sharpay be right?

"How can we be sure that I'm…," Gabriella asked Sharpay. She can't even bare to say the word pregnant.

"We have to go to the doctor immediately and you need to tell Troy," Sharpay said.

"No. We can't tell him until it's for sure. I don't want to freak him out. I'm already freaked out as it is," Gabriella said.

"Alright then we have to hurry then. Let's go," Sharpay said.

Gabriella then quickly went to her room to get her coat and her bag. She then hurried to exit the apartment but Troy saw her running out of the apartment and called her.

"What's the hurry?" he asked, holding a glass of water.

"Uh…I just heard there was a shoe sale. Can't miss out on the opportunity," Gabriella lied.

"I thought you were sick?" he inquired.

"No I'm not. I'm much better now. And it's probably nothing anyways," Gabriella said.

"Alright. Have fun or whatever."

Gabriella left the apartment with Sharpay and quickly made their way to the elevator. Gabriella started to get more and more nervous. Could she really be pregnant? It can't be. She's only 26. She can't be pregnant. She wasn't planning to be a parent till she's at least 28. This is just so wrong.

Hours later, Troy was sitting in the living strumming his guitar trying to create a song to impress Gabriella. So far nothing. He needs to come up with something that will tell Gabriella his true feelings about her but what?

Before he started to play his guitar, Troy started to flip through one of Gabriella's women's magazine which luckily has an article of how a guy finally admit to his best friend that he is in love with her but in the end, the girl told the guy that she is not in love with him whatsoever and could only see him as a friend and nothing more. To make matters worse, a week after that, the guy's best friend started to date another guy. Because of that article, Troy now has major fear of telling Gabriella the truth.

Then he thought, why just tell Gabriella when he could just easily write and song to her and after that he could reuse the song to send to the record company. But sadly, he couldn't think of any rhythm to go with his lyrics. He started to sing the lyrics slowly but it didn't come out good. Then he decided to take a break to think.

He remembered that morning when he was eavesdropping Gabriella and Sharpay's conversation. He remembered their conversation vividly. From when Sharpay asked Gabriella if he did anything nice for her to Sharpay pointing out that it is totally obvious that he has a crush on her.

Troy was glad Gabriella didn't think so but he was sad knowing that Gabriella might never fall in love with her. It was technically his fault that he acted so cocky when they first met. He didn't understand why he acted like it either. It just happened.

Now that he thought about it, he needed to do whatever it takes to make Gabriella like him more than a friend. If he had to, he'll be any kind of guy she wants him to be. He could be any role she wants her to be. Then with all the thoughts, he started to think of his first verse to his song. He started to strum his guitar when he heard the door open.

He saw Gabriella coming in looking as if she seen a ghost. She even walked slowly and also looked like she witnessed a murder or something.

"Hey, you're back. Everything ok?" Troy asked.

Gabriella opened her mouth to answer but then she closed it back and sat down on the chair near to the couch where Troy was sitting.

"Gabriella? Are you alright? What happened?" Troy asked, growing more concern.

Gabriella then looked at his face and finally opened her mouth, "I need to ask you something."

"You can ask me anything," Troy assured her.

Gabriella took a deep breath, "On the night when we…you know…slept together, did you remember using a condom?"

Troy felt his heart stopped. Why did Gabriella asked him that? Did he do something to her? Did she have one of those sexual transmitted disease from him? It can't be. Troy only had sex with two different girls and neither of them are sluts who passed themselves among guys.

"Um…I think I didn't use it because when I was cleaning my room after that, I didn't see any condom pack or anything like that," Troy said. "Why? Did I have passed on some STD disease to you? Are you ill?"

"No. No, it's nothing like that. Well since I don't have STD, do you know where I'm going with this?" Gabriella asked.

"Gabriella, I don't think I'm sure what you mean," Troy said, confused.

Gabriella took a deep breath, "Troy, I'm pregnant. With your baby," Gabriella said.

Troy started to feel very dizzy. Pregnant? Gabriella is pregnant? He made Gabriella pregnant? Is she serious? "What? How did this happen?" Troy asked.

"Don't blame this on me. You're the one who didn't use a condom in the first place," Gabriella debated.

Troy then remembered the night they had sex. They were making out in his bed with Gabriella on top of him. She was kissing his chest while he was moaning and rubbing Gabriella's butt. After that he started to kiss her lips and pulled back a moment later to stare at her eyes. Gabriella then took off her underwear that she was wearing and she took off Troy's boxers as well.

"_Are you sure?" Troy asked._

_Gabriella nodded and started to kiss Troy's jaw and then his lips. Troy then got up slowly while Gabriella was still on his laps still kissing Troy intently. Troy then moved his hand to find the drawer of his nightstand to take a condom but then Gabriella pulled his hand back._

"_What are you doing?" she asked, giggling._

"_I'm trying to get a condom, silly," Troy replied._

"_You don't need a condom to make me feel your pleasure," she said in a sultry voice._

"_But what if something happens to you?" Troy asked._

"_Who cares?" Gabriella replied._

_Without anymore argument, Gabriella laid herself down onto the bed with Troy now on top of her and they started making love to one another._

Troy now remembered it vividly. "You told me not to use a condom," Troy said.

"What?" Gabriella asked in disbelief.

"I remembered it now. I wanted to use the condom but you didn't want me to," Troy answered.

"No way. I don't remember telling you that," Gabriella argued.

"That's because you were too drunk," Troy pointed out.

Gabriella then kept quiet. She looked deep in thought and she also looked very afraid. Troy wondered what she was thinking. Maybe she was trying to remember the night as well. During the silence, Troy started to think as well. Gabriella is pregnant…with his baby that they conceived during their drunken accidental accountant. He was going to be…a father. A father. He is going to be a father of a child to the woman who he is yet to confess his feelings for.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked softly, snapping Troy out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" Troy asked.

"What are you thinking about?" Gabriella asked with a scared look on her face. "You're not…you're not thinking of leaving are you?" Gabriella asked with tears already forming in her eyes.

"What? Why would I do that?" Troy asked.

"Because we didn't plan this at all. You're not going to ask me to get an abortion are you?" Gabriella asked.

"Abortion?" Troy asked. Yes he was surprised and shocked by the news but he wasn't going to ask Gabriella to abort the baby they created. That would be so wrong. Had Gabriella been afraid that Troy might leave her because she's pregnant? Was she afraid that she's going to be a single mother and raise the baby alone? Did she think Troy was one of those guys that leave the girl after he made the girl pregnant? Because he isn't. He wouldn't do that to her or any other girl.

"Troy, if you want me to get an abortion, I don't think I want to do it. Even though I just found I'm pregnant today, I am not going to throw this baby away from me even if I didn't plan it. If you want to leave it's…well not fine because it takes two to make a baby and I think you need to do your part to raise this baby together with me and because if you leave me, I'll be a single mother raising a baby alone and I'll end up like one of those mothers who would later appear on Oprah because of accidental pregnancies and-" Gabriella got cut off by Troy kissing her softly and then he pulled back.

Gabriella swallowed, "What was that for?"

Troy wanted to say "Because I love you," but he didn't because that would be just weird and also because Gabriella might tell him that she doesn't love him like that. "Because I needed to shut you up," Troy said, partially lying.

"Oh," Gabriella replied. "So what are we going to do about this?"

"I think we should raise this baby together," Troy answered her.

"Really?" Gabriella asked hopefully.

"Really. No one deserves to raise a baby alone," Troy replied.

"But aren't you scared at all? I'm scared of being a mother and I'm the one who's carrying the baby right now," Gabriella said.

"Who isn't? I'll just have to get use to it then," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled for the first time she arrived home, "Thanks Troy, for understanding and everything. But how are we going to tell your parents?"

---

"OH MY GOODNESS!!" A happy voice squealed through the phone of the Montez-Bolton apartment. "Are you serious?!"

Troy sighed at her mother's reaction. This was the exact reaction she did when his brother, James, announced that he and Jenna were expecting a baby 3 years ago. His mother is so typical. "Yes mom. Gabriella is 2 months pregnant and we are expecting a baby," Troy answered her in monotone.

"Oh, this is so wonderful! I am going to have another grandchild! Where's Gabriella? I want to congratulate her," his mother asked.

"She's at work right now," Troy answered.

"Work? Why is she still working at the restaurant? I bought her that studio for her didn't I? And I thought she was pregnant? She shouldn't be working at all," his mother insists.

"Mom, she's pregnant, not paralysed. And she told me that she's going to do double duty for the meantime. Every morning and afternoon, she'll be at work, and after she gets home, she'll start to make some calls to decorate the studio for her while she starts to create some of her collection," Troy explained.

"Troy, did you hear yourself? That seems to be a lot of work for Gabriella to do for a pregnant woman. She might strain herself and hurt the baby," his mother said.

"I know that but she wants to do everything her way. But she did tell me there's going to be many things for her to do," Troy said.

"Maybe you should tell her to quit her job," his mother suggested.

"I don't know. She seems to enjoy being a waitress," Troy said.

"In that case, I'll just have to help her then," his mother stated.

"What do you mean? You can't be a waitress," Troy said.

"No, not that. I am going to stay at your apartment for the meantime to help Gabriella with designing her studio and until I convince Gabriella to quit her job," his mother said.

Troy's eyes widened, "You're not serious, are you?"

"Yes I am," his mother said as the matter-in-factly.

"But where are you going to sleep?" Troy asked. With only two bedrooms in the apartment and with Troy and Gabriella occupying each one of them, where would his mother sleep?

"In the guestroom silly. I thought you said the apartment has two rooms?" his mother inquired.

Now Troy remembered. His mother didn't know that Gabriella didn't sleep in the same room together since they moved in. This is bad. How was he going to tell Gabriella that his mother is moving in?

----

_**Sneak peek for the next upcoming chapter:**_ _Someone will come back to see Gabriella again and that person will find out the truth about their marriage._

* * *

_**Thanks for reading this chapter! Was it good?**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	19. Our Parents

"What do you mean your mother is moving in with us?" Gabriella asked frantically.

It was the same day after Troy got the news that his mother wanted to move into their apartment. They were now at the hospital waiting for the arrival of their doctor to see their first sonogram of the baby. At first, Gabriella told Troy not to come because she wanted to go alone but since Troy had received the news that morning, it was too big to wait to tell Gabriella so he decided to meet her in the hospital to tell her.

"She told me that she'll try to convince you to quit your job at the restaurant and just stay at home and start making your collection," Troy explained.

"She wants me to quit my present job to do my future job?" Gabriella pointed out.

"Look, I don't know what exactly she meant but whatever the case is, she's staying for perhaps a month or so or until you quit your job. You still have a chance to keep her away," Troy said.

"I don't want to quit my job at the restaurant just yet. How else do I get to bring food home fast without me cooking?" Gabriella asked.

"There are these places called fast food restaurant, Gabriella," Troy pointed out.

"It wouldn't be the same!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Look, can you imagine yourself waiting tables with a big belly in the first place?" Troy asked.

"I didn't say I was going to stay at the job forever Troy. Just until I'm ready to go," Gabriella said.

"Are you ready to go?" Troy asked.

"Opposite of yes," Gabriella answered.

"Look, it's either you quit your job or my mother will live with us until this baby is born," Troy said.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "You're just being selfish," she said.

"I'm the one who's selfish? Where am I supposed to sleep at when my mother sleeps in my room?" Troy asked.

"You could try the living room couch. I slept there once and it was surprisingly comfortable," Gabriella said.

"Not helping," Troy said.

"Troy, what do you want me to do? I'm stressed out as it is. I don't want to quit my job because where else will I get my money from? And with this baby, we'll need to provide more financial for him or her. I don't think we can live with your family's money for the rest of our lives. One day, the money is just going to stop," Gabriella said.

"Hello? I'm working too. I made almost a million dollar last year and I am one song away from being promoted to being recording producer. Do you know how much they pay a producer? Money isn't the issue for us right now," Troy said.

"What if you don't get the job? We have to have a back-up Troy," Gabriella pointed out.

"Why are you so worried?" Troy asked frustratingly.

"I just don't want to keep depending on other people like I did while depending on my dad for everything!" Gabriella admitted loudly.

The two then fell silent. Gabriella has always been depended on her father on everything since she was a little girl. After college, her father told her to be a responsible adult and find a job on her own but she still has her father with her to help her during times in need. Right now, she has nobody to turn to except Troy. She didn't want her own child to end up just like her.

The silence was broken when their doctor entered the room.

"Hello, my name is Doctor Jane Kingston. You must be Gabriella Montez-Bolton and this must be your husband…"

"Troy," Troy finished while shaking his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I see that just yesterday you found out that you were already 8 weeks along. How are you feeling?" Doctor Kingston asked.

"Oh, you know, normal," Gabriella answered.

"I also hear you two just got married. May I ask if you were planning to have a child right away?" she asked again.

"No. Not at all. Trust me this came in shock to me as she was," Troy said immediately.

"Sure, _he's_ the one who's shocked. Try going to the doctor and have him tell you that his sperm went inside my egg and got me pregnant," Gabriella said sarcastically, annoying Troy.

"Ooohkay...well, in any case, let's get started to have a sneak peek of your baby," Doctor Kingston said.

While the doctor was putting some gel on Gabriella's stomach, Troy leaned in to whisper to Gabriella.

"Are we still on the condom thing again?" he asked.

"Shut up Troy. You're not the one who needs a total wardrobe change. Do you know how much designer maternity clothing cost nowadays?" Gabriella spat back.

"Why do you always keep changing the subject every time we have an argument?" Troy asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't you read the instructions? Getting a woman pregnant comes with the hormonal package," Gabriella said sarcastically.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting something, but if you look the screen, you will be able to see the first image of your little bundle," Doctor Kingston said while pointing to the sonogram.

Troy and Gabriella both stopped fighting to look at the screen closely. "That is the head and that is the body," she continued.

"Wow…" Troy could only say.

"I'll leave you two a moment to yourselves. I'll be back at around five minutes or so."

Doctor Kingston left leaving Troy and Gabriella in the room alone while they stared in awe at the little fetus on the screen.

"Wow," Troy repeated. "That's…that's the baby. I mean, our baby."

Gabriella fell silent a little but then finally said something, "Yeah, it is."

"It looks like a little peanut there," Troy said. "You know, my brother always gushed about every time he sees Jeffery's sonogram. Back then, I didn't know what's the big deal was but now I can understand why he's so proud."

"You're proud of our baby? Even if we didn't plan it?" Gabriella asked.

"One thing I learn recently, you don't plan things to happen. Things just happen to you and you just have to accept it," Troy answered.

Gabriella smiled at Troy for the first time since he arrived. He couldn't sworn Gabriella was looking at his lips as if to think whether she could kiss him or not but she didn't. Instead she spoke.

"So about your whole sleeping arrangement, I think it would be more convenient if you slept in my room. We are married after all right? Your mom would have expected us to be sleeping in the same room after all," Gabriella said.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked.

"I guess we might have to get use to it. After you mom moves out, that room will have to be the baby nursery then," Gabriella answered.

"In that case, I guess it'll have to work for now," Troy said.

"But, of course they'll have to be something in between us to separate your side and my side," Gabriella ordered.

Troy rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

That evening when they got home, they found their apartment living room was filled with some boxes labeled: _Lucille Bolton._ Troy had to roll his eyes at it. Even though his mother hasn't exactly moved in, it seems like she's already there with them.

"Well, I guess she'll be making herself right at home," Gabriella pointed out sarcastically.

"Are you sure you don't want to quit your job just yet?" Troy reassured her.

"I'll think about it okay? You shouldn't make a pregnant woman stress Troy," Gabriella said. While on her way to her room, she saw a letter on top of the side table that had her name on it. Gabriella remembered the last time she got a letter like that when she was at the honeymoon with Troy. Troy's mother had sent her a letter telling her that she had bought the fashion studio just for her.

But when she opened the envelope, it wasn't a note from Troy's mother. Gabriella recognized the handwriting right away. She read it closely and kept staring at the letter as she finished reading. Troy noticed the letter she was reading.

"Is that another letter from my mom?" he asked.

"No. It's from my dad. He wants to have dinner with us tonight at 8 at the restaurant we went with to meet your parents about the wedding arrangements," Gabriella replied.

"Seriously?" he asked.

Gabriella nodded, "Seriously. What do you think he might want?"

"Maybe he might want to apologize for his actions like not being supportive and not attending the wedding," Troy answered.

"Gee Troy, thanks for reminding me," Gabriella said sarcastically. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he does want to apologize."

"What if he wants to know why we got married fast?" Troy asked.

"I've been thinking about that, maybe we should tell him. He's quite understanding. He won't tell," Gabriella said.

"Understanding? He isn't_ understanding_ when we said we wanted to get married," Troy pointed out.

"He has a reason to not be understanding. The news just probably came out as shock to him. Why else would he put us in this apartment in one of the most beautiful plazas in NYC?" Gabriella debated.

"Fine. Have fun then," Troy said.

"What are talking about? You're not staying home tonight. My dad says he wants to see the both of us and that means you and me," Gabriella said.

"No way. I got to come out with a song by the end of the month. I told you, I'm one song away from a promotion," Troy reminded her.

"So this means that you rather get your promotion than help your pregnant wife?" Gabriella asked innocently.

Troy let out his breath. Then again, maybe dinner with her dad wouldn't be so hard after all. Troy then remembered Mr. Montez's reaction when he disbanded Gabriella from his life. He looked angry but Troy could tell that deep inside, he was hurting inside. Troy thought that maybe Mr. Montez is one of those protective fathers who can't let go of his little princess.

That night, they arrived at Starr Restaurant, to see Gabriella's father there. On their way there, Troy could tell how nervous Gabriella is. He wouldn't blame her, he's nervous himself.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," she replied. "But we know the plan right? When he asked why we got married, we tell him the truth. Right?"

"Can we still talk about that because I'm not so sure-," Troy got cut off.

"This is no time for you to be unsure Troy. Besides, if we finally tell someone about this, it's like lifting a weight from our shoulders," Gabriella said.

"What if the weight is not being lifted after we tell him?" he asked.

"Don't worry, it will," Gabriella assured him.

When they entered the restaurant, the waiter direct them to a table where Mr. Montez was seated at. They saw his playing with his glass of champagne and then he smiled when he saw the arrival of his daughter.

"Hi! So glad you two could make it!" Mr. Montez got up from his seat to hug his daughter tightly. "Oh, I miss you so much."

"I miss you too dad," Gabriella said.

"Before you sit, I would just like to apologize for my actions for the past few months. You have to understand how shock I felt when you told me about your engagement and I'm sorry for missing your wedding and not walk you down the aisle. I was just embarrassed of the lack of support I gave you. But you're grandmother told me about the wedding and she said it was beautiful and-," Mr. Montez got cut off by Gabriella.

"Dad, it's ok. It's not your fault," Gabriella said.

"No, no. It is. I was just being selfish and you don't deserve that," he replied.

Gabriella was about to reply but she felt the sudden urge to throw up. She tried to swallow her vomit to help her talk. "Um, dad, I'm going to the bathroom for a moment. Why don't you and Troy get to know each other? I'll be right back."

After Gabriella ran to the bathroom, Troy and Mr. Montez sat awkwardly in front of one another. Troy felt the most awkward. He barely knew Mr. Montez at all. How was he suppose to interact with him?

"Um, Troy, like I said just now, I deeply apologize for the lack of support I given you over this. I'm sorry for the temper I have thrown to you," he said.

"Oh, that's alright Mr. Montez," Troy said.

"No, no. Let me finish. The truth is; I was just upset that Gabriella has already found somebody she loves deeply and to spent her whole life with. I have to admit, I am a bit too much of a protective dad. I have been like this since she was a teenager. She didn't have a date to the senior prom because I didn't approve her date. But I can see why she seems to like you so much," Mr. Montez said.

"Really?" Troy asked.

"Yup. I did some research on you and you seemed to be a fine young man. Son of one of the top lawyers in the country and an accomplished songwriter. Which is weird considering Gabriella hates artistic guys. She says artistic guys are just so conceited but I guess she managed to overlook that quality in you," he continued.

Troy grew more afraid. This man did some research on him. But how? Was he a secret spy somehow? Not a moment later, Gabriella finally arrived at the table.

"There's my little girl. Please sit. I have something I have to tell you both," Mr. Montez said.

"Actually, we have something to tell you. Two things actually," Gabriella said.

"Me first," Mr. Montez insisted. "Well, I just thought that since I didn't make it for your actual wedding, why don't I help you to organize a second wedding for you two? We can have it at that country club you always go to. Remember when you told me that you wished you would get married at their private beach and then have the reception in the dining room?" Mr. Montez said.

Gabriella opened her eyes wide in shocked, "I said that when I was twelve dad. I didn't know what I was thinking. Plus, we don't need a second wedding. Trust me."

"Why not? It'll be like renewing your vows. Troy's family could be there too. I'm sure they won't mind attending a second wedding right?" he asked, looking at Troy.

"I guess. But really, you don't have to do this Mr. Montez," Troy said.

"No, no. I insist and now end of this discussion. Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" he asked.

Troy and Gabriella stared at one another. Unexpected things just keep on happening to them for no reason. They know it just a bunch of punishments to teach them a lesson for lying to everybody.

"Well…"

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_**Sorry to leave you hanging here but I have to keep up the suspense right?**_

_**Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I might be kind of busy this week so I won't be posting many chapters. But who knows, perhaps when I find time, I might post the chapter quite soon like tomorrow or by Friday.**_

_**Well, PLEASE REVIEW!!**_


	20. The Truth Comes Out

"Well…" Troy started slowly. He didn't know how to tell it to him. Why was he the one telling Gabriella's father? Shouldn't Gabriella tell him? That way Troy wouldn't end up with a black eye in the morning. Suddenly, Gabriella spoke up.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted. Troy turned to her with his eyes wide opened as if asking her 'what the hell?!' He didn't know she was going to tell about the pregnancy first. Troy played along. He thought that maybe that Gabriella wanted to tell something good first for her dad so when they tell the truth; he won't get so mad. That is good right? What if it goes both ways?

Troy and Gabriella waited for Mr. Montez's response to their news. They got themselves ready for a tantrum that he was going to throw at them. He remained silent for what it seems like years but then he began to speak.

"Was this the reason why you got married in the first place?" Mr. Montez asked.

Gabriella opened her mouth to explain, "Dad –," Mr. Montez then interrupted her.

"It is isn't it? Why didn't you tell me in the first place Gabriella? I did ask you why you were going to get married. Why didn't tell me the truth?" Mr. Montez scolded.

"DAD! CHILL!" Gabriella exclaimed. "We didn't get married because of this but the baby was conceived during our engagement."

"Did you plan this?" Mr. Montez asked.

"Dad-," Gabriella got interrupted again by her father.

"Just answer the question. Did you or did you not plan for this baby?" Mr. Montez asked, strictly.

"No. We didn't. Dad, it's our fault. We weren't being careful," Gabriella said.

"Why weren't you being careful?" Mr. Montez asked.

Gabriella looked down, "Because we were drunk when we did it."

"Drunk? I thought you only drink on occasions Gabriella. Why did you start drinking for no reason? Did Troy pressure you? What did he say to you?" Mr. Montez asked.

"Dad, Troy did not pressure me whatsoever. I was the one who brought home the bottle of wine that day because someone from work gave it to me. I didn't know the wine was strong enough until we had sex," Gabriella explained.

"So you're blaming the wine on this now?" he asked.

"Somehow," Gabriella answered slowly.

Troy took a deep breath, "Mr. Montez, this isn't Gabriella's fault. I was the one who didn't use a condom in the first place," he explained.

"Why didn't you use a condom in the first place Bolton?" Mr. Montez asked. Gabriella rolled her eyes. Whenever he starts calling a person by their last name, it means he's either getting irritated or just really angry.

"We were drunk, dad. We didn't know what we were doing. Why are so hung up on this? We are technically married so we are allowed to do this kind of thing," Gabriella debated.

"What do you by 'technically married'?" Mr. Montez asked.

Gabriella bites her lip. She can't believe she said that. She didn't mean to. It just slipped out. "What do you mean?" Gabriella asked innocently.

"Gabriella, what did that phrase mean?" Mr. Montez asked, frustratingly.

Troy looked over at Gabriella. This dinner was not going well and they haven't even ordered their food yet. Gabriella on the other hand looked helpless. She looked like she didn't know what to say. Troy knew he had to step up and take charge.

"I can answer that," Troy said. "Gabriella and I are married now because…because I made her to get married with me."

After Troy answered Mr. Montez's question, he looked far from relieved or happy at all. Troy could have sworn that his face turn red and he looked like he was going to explode. Troy felt like he was slowly shrinking in his seat as Mr. Montez started to glare at him.

"You married my daughter because you made her?" Mr. Montez repeated Troy's answer.

"Yes but there is more to that story," Troy explained. "You see, Gabriella and I stumbled to each other at this place, I'm sure Gabriella told you about. Anyways, before we met, my parents are forcing me to find a person to get married or I'll get arranged in an arranged marriage which I do not like at all. So one day when my parents mentioned the whole marriage thing, I panicked and said I have a girlfriend which in reality, I don't but they bought it anyways and they wanted to meet her. I didn't know any girl at the moment to become my pretend girlfriend but then Gabriella came along and she dropped her book in the café we met at and when she came back to retrieve back the book, I told her that she'll have to do me a favor if she wants get her sketchbook back-" Troy got interrupted by Mr. Montez.

"So you blackmail my daughter into this?" Mr. Montez said; his voice starting raise.

"Yes but not exactly. I told her that after meeting my parents, she'll won't have to see me again and she did but then a week later, my parents told me that they liked Gabriella a lot and that I should be married to her and so…here we are," Troy said.

"And when you found out about the engagement, Gabriella wanted to tell you the truth but I told her not to because I'm afraid that-," Troy got cut off by Mr. Montez again.

"That I would tell the truth to your parents?" Mr. Montez asked.

Troy nodded, "So this is my fault. Gabriella did nothing wrong. I was the one who got her into this mess so if you're willing to blame anyone, blame me and if you're willing to sue, I suggest you not to use my family's law firm."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. This is not going well at all and Troy is willing to act like an angel. She looked at her father and noticed that he is starting to calm down.

"Well…that seems to be a lot of information to fit in just one minute," Mr. Montez started. "Well I can't pretend to be supportive at this because you used my daughter for your own gain."

"I don't blame you," Troy said.

"Dad? What are thinking?" Gabriella asked.

"To be honest I don't know what to think right now," Mr. Montez answered. "Well, if you two are going to keep up with this charade, I have a few conditions for you. One, since I do not like this whole marriage thing, I am giving you two until the birth of this baby to tell Troy's parents the truth. Two, you two will have to get use to each other for a long time for the sake of your baby. I don't know the true feelings you have for one another, and I don't think I want to know, but you two will have to work out whatever it is to make this marriage work for you and your family. If you failed to do so, I will have no choice but to take the baby away from your hands. Got it?"

Troy and Gabriella got scared when Mr. Montez mentioned about taking away their baby. Although the whole baby thing wasn't even planned, they didn't want anyone to take their baby away. Troy thought Mr. Montez was right. They have to work the marriage out. Not because he loves Gabriella but because of their baby too.

"Yes," Troy and Gabriella answered in unison.

"So can we start to order now?" Gabriella asked.

"Before that, Gabriella, you are quitting your job at the restaurant," Mr. Montez told her.

"What? How do you know about my job at the restaurant?" Gabriella asked.

"How did you think you got the job so easily in the first place?" Mr. Montez smirked.

Gabriella couldn't believe it. She didn't get the job because she was qualified and lucky; she got the job because her father had managed to pull some strings without finding out whatsoever. It was genius but at the same time not good at all. This means she isn't capable of getting a job on her own at all. Is she going to live like this forever? Having her father taking care of all her problems? What kind of life lesson will that teach her future child? You're not completely independent when you have you family?

"Why are you being so pissed about? You don't expect yourself waiting tables with a big belly do you?" Mr. Montez added.

"Thank you! That's what I told her this afternoon and she didn't want to listen to me. And because of that, my mother is moving in to convince her to quit her job at the restaurant. She kept giving reasons that she wants to make her own money and such," Troy said.

"Why does she need to make her own money for? She's married to you isn't she?" Mr. Montez pointed out.

"I told her that too but she won't listen," Troy added.

"She's always been stubborn," Mr. Montez pointed out.

"Hello?! I'm right here! If you're going to talk about me, do it behind my back, that way it won't hurt," Gabriella said.

Gabriella couldn't believe it. She wasn't sure if she was surprised because her father started saying 'pissed' or that in less that fifteen minutes, Troy and her father had managed to get along. She wasn't sure if she should be glad or not. As they started to talk more about Gabriella's flaws, Gabriella knows it is going to be a very long night.

That night they went home, Troy and Gabriella just got out of the lift.

"You're dad's really cool you know," Troy stated.

"I would have thought you two you going to hit it off when you started to make fun of me," Gabriella said sarcastically.

"We weren't making fun of you. We were just exchanging stories about you," Troy replied.

"Well your 'stories' made me feel embarrassed," Gabriella said.

"Why are so mad about? Now that your dad knows, isn't it like 'lifting a weight from you shoulders'," Troy said, mimicking what Gabriella told him in a girl's voice.

"Let's just say 'the weight isn't lifted'," Gabriella said in a deep voice.

Troy rolled his eyes and then opened the apartment room door. He realised that the door isn't locked at all.

"What's the matter? Thought about more jokes about me that you want to tell my dad?" Gabriella asked.

"The door isn't locked," Troy said.

"What? Are you sure? I thought you locked it when we went out?" Gabriella said.

"I did. Maybe someone broke into our room. Maybe it's a robber and judging by sound of the footsteps, he is still in there," Troy said.

"What are we going to do? What if he has a gun or worse, a knife?!" Gabriella panicked.

"Relax. You keep yourself hidden and-," before Troy could finish telling his plan, someone opened the door which caused Troy and Gabriella to scream loudly. While screaming, Gabriella closed her eyes and Troy quickly grabbed Gabriella to protect her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," the person said.

Troy opened his eyes, "Mom? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm staying here with you remember?" Mrs. Bolton said.

"I know that you're staying with us but I didn't know you were going to start to stay starting now mom and you totally caught us off guard. Could you give us a notice next time? You almost gave us a heart attack," Troy said.

"I'm sorry Troy. I'm just so excited to be staying here with you that I wanted it to be a surprise. I thought you were at home tonight that's why I came here. A manager saw me knocking on your door so he decided to let me in," Mrs. Bolton explained.

"Why would he do that? That's not responsible and that's coming from me," Gabriella said.

"I'm sorry. But look at it this way, now we can get started on your collection that's going to be a hit! I understand that you still kept your job at the restaurant-," Mrs. Bolton got cut off by Gabriella.

"Actually Mrs Bolton, apparently, I quit my job so it looks like I'm free to get started on my own," Gabriella said.

"Yeah, and because of this, I guess there's no need for you to stay here with us now that Gabriella has quitted her job right?" Troy inquired.

"Nonsense. I'll be staying here until I see a baby bump," Mrs. Bolton said.

"But that will take a month or so," Gabriella said slowly.

Mrs. Bolton smiled widely, "I know! Isn't this great. Plus, it'll give us time to get to know each other more."

"But mom, don't you have a husband to go home to?" Troy asked.

"Your father and brother are out of the state for the meantime to help to solve a case. But don't worry, he'll call once in a while when he's not stress," Mrs. Bolton said.

Troy and Gabriella smiled weakly. "Well don't just stand there, show me your guest room," Mrs. Bolton said.

The nightmare begins…..now.

* * *

_**So how was this? Awesome? No good? Good?**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW**_

_**P.S My midterms are coming and I want to cut back on computer for a while so I might be posting any chapters anytime soon. But most likely I will be posting the next one either this week or next week or even the week after that. Thank you!**_


	21. Stop Your Whining

A week later, Troy and Gabriella still had a hard time dealing with everything new happening in their home. One, Troy's mother still living with them and two, sleeping on a same bed with a pillow in the middle of them separating them.

Troy and Gabriella had a very hard time sleeping in a same bed together especially with their sleeping habits. Troy has a hard time sleeping through Gabriella constant kicking even with the pillow in between them which Gabriella find it hard to snooze when Troy couldn't stop snoring so loudly. They made it possible to drive each other crazy in the room every night but they could easily pretend to get along in front of Lucille.

One morning, Troy and Gabriella were in the kitchen getting ready for breakfast. The first morning Lucille stayed with them, she pointed out that Troy and Gabriella never had breakfast together like other newlywed couples do. Gabriella didn't serve breakfast for Troy and Troy didn't sit at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. Afraid that Lucille might find figure something up, they decided to pretend to be the clichéd lovey dovey couple just like what Lucille expected.

Lucille entered the kitchen to find Troy reading the newspaper while his breakfast was being served by Gabriella. When Gabriella saw her, she smiled and greeted her perkily.

"Good morning Mrs Bolton! Did you have a good night sleep?" Gabriella asked while pouring coffee in a cup.

Lucille smiled weakly. She did not have a very good night sleep. Not with the excessive noise Troy and Gabriella made last night. She doesn't even want to know what they were doing last night. What she doesn't know is that Troy and Gabriella planned to make the 'noise' on purpose so that Lucille won't be on their trail.

"Yeah, I guessed I slept well," she lied.

"Would like some breakfast mom? Gabriella cooks so well," Troy offered while pushing his plate to her.

"Thank you Troy. What are you having for breakfast?" Lucille asked.

"I already ate. This plate was meant for you," Troy explained.

"Thank you Troy. That's very sweet of you but I think I need to take a shower first," Lucille said.

"Alright, I'll put your breakfast in the microwave then," Gabriella told her.

As soon as Lucille was out of sight, Troy and Gabriella both collapsed at the kitchen seat.

"How long do we have to keep this up?" Gabriella asked desperately.

"Until you start growing a baby bump," Troy answered. "How long does that take again?"

"A month or so," Gabriella answered.

"That sounds like a lot of time," Troy commented.

"Tell me about it. I am so tired of smiling like a freak in front of your mother. I feel like a Barbie doll that couldn't stop smiling at all," Gabriella said.

"I don't even know why I'm holding up this newspaper for. I didn't even read it. I was just looking at the pictures. I feel like my dad all of the sudden," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled a little. "Are you sure you don't want the breakfast I made?" she asked Troy. Troy told her to give the breakfast to his mother instead of him eating it. Troy had tasted Gabriella's breakfast before but it didn't taste good at all. He didn't want to tell her the truth. What kind of husband would he be right? Plus, he doesn't want to hurt her feelings. He is still trying to figure out ways to make Gabriella fall in love with him.

"Yeah I'm sure. I'm not that hungry. Besides I have to get to work soon," Troy answered.

"But it's only 8.30am. You don't have to be at work till 10," Gabriella pointed out.

"That's because I have to get there fast," Troy said quickly.

Gabriella searched his face, "What's going on? Don't you like my cooking?" she asked.

Troy dared not to look at her face. What was he going to say? "Well if you're not going to answer me then I guess I'll just eat this breakfast myself," Gabriella said while grabbing a fork.

"NO WAIT!" Troy stopped her. Gabriella had never tasted her own cooking before, especially the meal she cooked for breakfast. He didn't want Gabriella to know that he was lying about saying her cooking was incredible. Troy quickly took the fork from her hand and then started to munch through Gabriella's cooking. "Mmmm…."

"You don't like my cooking do you?" Gabriella asked.

"I didn't say that," Troy said.

"But you want to," Gabriella said.

"No didn't," Troy replied.

"Then let me have some," Gabriella said.

"No way. This is mine. Get your own," Troy said while pulling the plate away from Gabriella but Gabriella managed to grab the fork back from him and tried to chase him to get the plate.

Before they knew it, they were chasing each other around the house. Since they were having too much fun, they completely forgot about the whole breakfast thing and started to run around the house. While jumping on the couch, Troy fell down in a sitting position and Gabriella fell down directly on his lap.

When Gabriella was still on his lap, Troy can't help but remember the time when they first met. They were in the exact position when they first met. They were both staring close at each other closely. Troy then took a risk and leaned in to kiss Gabriella but then his mother interrupted his moment.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realise you two were…busy. Did I interrupt something?" Lucille asked.

"We were just goofing off mom. It's nothing. What did you want?" Troy asked.

"I was just about to ask you if you would like me to give you some of my old parenting book. I had a few of them when I was pregnant and it's been really helpful. If you want, I could head home for a while and grab the books for you," Lucille offered.

"Why not? I was planning on buying a few books of pregnancy anyways. It sounds very useful," Gabriella commented.

"Perfect. Now I'm going to get ready to head out. You two can get back to whatever it is you're up to," Lucille said as she disappeared to their guest bedroom.

Gabriella then realized that she was still at Troy's lap. She quickly stood up and walked back to the kitchen with Troy following her.

"Why do you need a pregnancy book for? All of your questions could be answered just by asking the doctor," Troy pointed out.

"Who knows? It might come in handy someday. I read somewhere in the internet that many unexpected things could happen in the second trimester of pregnancy. I just want to be ready," Gabriella replied.

"You don't need it," Troy said.

"Yes I do and so do you. There's a parenting book for guys too. I bet your father and brother read it," Gabriella said.

"Whatever," Troy replied.

That night when Troy got home from work, he entered the door to find his apartment was filled with dozens of boxes. In confusion, he looked into one of the boxes and found a book for pregnancy. The rest of the boxes were filled with books on pregnancy. He checked other boxes and it contained the same thing. His mother wasn't kidding when she asked if they needed any book on pregnancy.

He entered the living to find Gabriella and his mother sitting at the couch while his mother was showing Gabriella a page of a pregnancy book. To his surprise, Gabriella looked interested and she wasn't faking a smile to his mother.

"Uh, what's going on here? Did I miss a book sale or something?" Troy asked sarcastically.

"Oh, you're so silly Troy. These are the books that I promised to bring over," Lucille explained.

"I thought you said you'd bring a few books, not the entire pregnancy bookstore," Troy said.

Before Lucille could reply back to him, her cell phone started to ring. "I have to take this. I'll come back later to talk to you two," Lucille said as she disappeared into her bedroom.

"Is she serious about this?" Troy asked while holding up very thick pregnancy book.

"Relax Troy. To be honest, most of the books here are very useful. There's even a pregnancy book for guys. Well, 15 actually but that's not point," Gabriella said.

"What are we suppose to do with these books after we're done with them?" Troy asked.

"I suppose we could keep some and give some back to your mother. I heard she kept these books in the library of the mansion. How insane is that? And these are only a quarter of what she have at the mansion right now," Gabriella said.

"Can we just pick the ones we like and put the rest back where it belongs?" Troy asked.

"Troy, you mother has offered to help us here. The least you could do is appreciate your mother for trying to help," Gabriella said.

"I am but this is just too much isn't it? Tell me you're a bit overwhelmed by this," Troy said.

"I am a little overwhelmed but I am grateful for this and plus, we are talking about your mother here. Isn't she always a little too much? Remember our wedding?" Gabriella reminded Troy.

"Fine. I'm sorry," Troy replied.

"Why are apologizing to me for? You're lucky your mother is not listening to our conversation. Anyways, you're in a bad mood," Gabriella commented.

"I have a lot going on at work," Troy replied.

"Can't finish the song?" Gabriella asked sympathetically.

"Yeah but good news is that the deadline is extended till next month. If I don't finish it by then, I won't get promoted," Troy explained.

"Don't get too hung up. Don't just songs just come to you? You'll do great," Gabriella motivated him.

Troy smiled and sat on the chair, "I just need something to take my mind off work."

"Here's something, what do you think the gender of the baby will be? I bet it's going to a boy," Gabriella said.

"Why a boy?" Troy asked.

"Because your mother told me that your family tree has more baby boys than girls. I think we have a high probability that it's going to be a boy," Gabriella answered.

"I don't know. I might go over a limp here and say it's going to be a girl," Troy said.

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know. I'm just guessing," Troy said. "Do you want to ask for the gender of the baby during the next doctor appointment?"

"It would be nice. That way we could easily come up with the name and easily plan the color of the room and such. It'll be so much fun decorating the room!" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, and think of all the money we spend with just one tiny person in this house," Troy pointed out.

Gabriella glared at him. She then picked up a book and threw it to Troy. "What's this for?" he asked.

"I have homework for you to do. You have to do read this whole book by the time my belly grows," Gabriella said.

"What? Are you crazy? Did you see how thick this book is? And have you not heard me when I said that I need to finish a song by next month? That is a lot for a guy to do in a short period of time. Where will I find time?" Troy argued.

"Make time," Gabriella declared. "You're on your own jerk face."

* * *

_**This chapter might suck a little but I think the beginning was ok right?**_

_**Sorry for any grammatical errors or any other errors.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!!**_


	22. The Big Bump In The Road

_**Hey! I'm back. Sorry for not updating but don't worry, my exams are done for now and I have decided to update! Please enjoy. If there is any grammatical errors, please forgive me.**_

_**

* * *

**_

Troy couldn't believe. He couldn't the day has finally. The day their baby made its mark in Gabriella's body. It was hard to believe that just last week, Gabriella's stomach was so flat and today, there was a tiny bump hiding under her shirt. He felt the need to touch the belly but he didn't want to come out like a pervert.

Right now, Gabriella was in the closet trying to find some clothes she's going to wear for their doctor appointment. She was having a hard time because she wanted something that doesn't exposed her belly too much which Troy doesn't understand because once his mother see that baby bump, she'll be gone but then his mother will get over ecstatic and might cause a miscarriage.

"Why are so into choosing your clothes for? My mother will glad to see that baby bump," Troy said.

"Yes but then I need something that covers my baby bump properly but at the same time doesn't make me look like I had a big lunch. I know I have a baby doll dress here somewhere…" Gabriella answered.

"Baby doll dress? Isn't that going to be a little tight for you?" Troy said.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. Troy is one of those guys who can't tell Gucci from Pucci. "I meant baby doll dress as in a modern take of it. Outdated much?"

"Whatever. Just quickly get out of the closet, I need to find my clothes in there too," Troy said.

"Fine, then one minute," she replied.

Troy sighed, "At least pass me something I could wear."

"FOUND IT!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Hold on, I'm picking your clothes…"

Not a moment later, Gabriella exited the closet while holding her dress and Troy's clothing. When she was out of the closet, she was surprise to see Troy a towel away from being naked. He only covered the bottom part of his body and exposed his ripped abs for Gabriella to see (and drool). Boy she wished she could climb up his body and lay on top of his abs.

She quickly snapped her head out of it. She told herself that she was just having one of those, hormonal pregnancy stuff. She remembered a page which says that in a time during a woman is pregnant; she might want to have sex more than she needed when she wasn't pregnant. But she didn't want sex. Especially with Troy. But she was tempting to have an orgasm.

"Like what you see?" Troy smirked when she saw Gabriella looking at his abs.

"What are you talking about?" Gabriella asked.

"Please, I know you can't get enough of my body. Bet you want to make out now right?" Troy said cockily.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I am not looking at your body. That silent moment I had was me criticising you of wearing little clothing. You better not do this after our baby is born Troy. I won't have it," Gabriella said.

"Alright _mom_. Can I have my clothes now?" Troy asked in annoyance and Gabriella gave his clothes to him. "But come on, I know what you've been really thinking. You want to kiss me right now and have my arms around you. You think I don't know this whole pregnancy thing is making you horny?"

"Ah, so you have been reading the book instead of using them as coasters," Gabriella said, changing the subject.

"I said I was sorry. Plus, I read the book didn't I?" Troy said.

"Sure, reading the summary of an each chapter is really helpful. Wonder why I've been struggling to finish the whole book," Gabriella commented sarcastically.

"Come on, I saving each chapter for each month that way I know what's going on," Troy said.

"No, you should've read it like normal people do so you'd be ready what comes after next just like me having this fit right now!" Gabriella yelled at him. "Hormones. Chapter 2 pg 32. Read it Troy! If you ever want to be a part of the baby's life, read it and I mean it," she added while throwing the book at Troy that he hid under his pillow. She then entered the bathroom and slammed the door loudly.

Troy groaned in frustration. He failed again. Gabriella now probably hates him more than before. She is probably in the bathroom right now all angry and stressed out. He didn't mean to do anything to cause Gabriella any stress.

In the bathroom, Gabriella sat on the toilet seat and massaged her temple. She didn't mean to yell at Troy like that. She just wants him to be a part of this experience and do what every expecting father does. Supportive. Troy is definitely not showing much support to her at all. All he's been up to is his song and TV. He almost didn't even pay the slightest attention to her for a week. If it wasn't for dinner at night, they wouldn't make a sentence to one another. All she wants is everything to be perfect.

After taking a bath, Gabriella got dressed and walked to the kitchen where she found Troy and his mother talking. Lucille then turned to Gabriella and got up off her seat looking anxious to say something to Gabriella.

"Is it true? Did your baby bump really grow?" Lucille asked excitedly.

Gabriella glanced at Troy and he gave a look that says 'I have to tell her'. Gabriella took a deep breath to be ready what was going to happen next. "Yeah…um…I have a bump now," Gabriella said slowly.

"Oh my goodness! This is so exciting! There is really a baby in there! Oh, I have to come to your sonogram appointment today," Lucille declared.

"Mom, do you have to?" Troy asked panicky. It's bad enough that his mother is still living with them at home and they have to act like a married couple. With his mother at the doctor's appointment, what type of act will Troy and Gabriella have to do next?

"Of course. I was planning to go to one of your sonograms anyways so why not now? I was planning to have all of your sonograms from every month so I can make a baby scrapbook with all the pictures of the baby like I did for your brother and then when it's full, we can give it to him/her. Isn't that just brilliant?" Lucille said.

"Wow….," was all Gabriella could say. All she could think about Lucille is going to be when the baby is actually born. She might have priority visits to the apartment until the baby starts going to school.

"Mom, I know how excited you are with this baby but…" Troy was about to say his next sentence but then his mother looked at him so confused and helpless like a little puppy who is stranded in a box while it's raining. He can't say no to his mother. "…should you be getting home soon? Dad is coming back tomorrow. Shouldn't you be planning his welcome back party?" Troy asked.

"Your father said he's getting sick of parties nowadays so I only planned dinners now," Lucille answered.

Troy nodded, trying to act that he's interested in the conversation. "So you're saying you're leaving soon right?" he asked.

"I think I'll be leaving by the end of the week but don't be sad, if you two ever need any kind of help I'll be happy to come back," Lucille offered.

"Aw, that sounds so nice Mrs. Bolton. We'll keep that in mind. Right Troy?" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded, "Yeah. We'll so keep that in mind," he said, trying to hide his sarcasm.

* * *

Right after the doctor's appointment, Gabriella went to visit her father. Since her father decided to put the past behind them, she went back to her normal routine by visit her father at his house and bringing some takeout with her. She did felt a little guilty for leaving Troy with his mother. During the appointment, Lucille acted like a kid in candy store when seeing the sonogram first hand. It was a little embarrassing but at the same time wonderful somehow.

Gabriella entered the building where her father is living. Her father lives at the very top floor at the penthouse suite. It's a very big place for a single person but her father had always loved living in luxury. Her father had even asked her to live with him when they both moved to New York. Gabriella rejected his offer obviously because it's just weird. She can't be the fabulous 20 something girl living in New York when she's living with her father.

As the elevator door opened, Gabriella called for her father. "Dad? Daddy?" she called.

"Hold on! I'm coming," he answered. Gabriella then made her way to the kitchen and settled the food on the kitchen table. Not a minute later, her father came to kitchen.

"Hi daddy," Gabriella greeted as she hugged her father. Her father returned the hug and noticed the tiny bump on Gabriella's stomach that she's been hiding.

"Whoa, is that a baby bump I see in front of me?" her father asked.

"Uh, yeah it is," Gabriella answered.

"You don't happy. What's the matter? Is it Troy? Did he decide to walk out on you?" he asked.

"No. I think not yet at least," Gabriella said sarcastically. "Well good news is, his mother is moving out. Anyways, I got Mexican takeout and I got your favourite taco."

"Thanks. Gabriella, about Troy, I really you should give him a chance. He seems…nice," her father said.

Gabriella shrugged, "I guess."

"He's good-looking also. He seems charming and-," her father continued until Gabriella stopped him.

"Dad, do _you_ want to be with Troy? Because I really don't mind," Gabriella joked.

"I'm just saying, if you happen to have any sort of feelings towards Troy, I want you to know that I approve of him. Not because he's your husband but as a person," her father said.

"I don't know dad. It's just complicated. I do have feelings towards him but I'm not sure what it is yet," Gabriella said.

Before her father could answer, he began to cough furiously. Gabriella reacted quickly and grabbed a glass and poured plain water in it and gave it to her father while rubbing his back.

"Dad, are you sick?" Gabriella asked concerned.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," her father answered when he stopped coughing.

Gabriella squint her eyes, "Half of it? What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's nothing. I shouldn't even mention it in the first place. Let's eat," he said. Gabriella refused to listen to his excuse.

"No. I want to know what's wrong. Did you get really sick or something?" Gabriella asked forcefully.

"Gabriella, I don't want to worry you. Plus it happened a long time ago. I'm ok now. I don't want you to get stressed out especially when you're pregnant now. Just don't let me stress you out. It's the last thing I want to do," her father answered.

Gabriella sighed and decided to play along. She didn't want them to not talk to each other anymore. He was the only parent Gabriella has and she didn't want to lose him. "So how was your day?" she asked, changing the subject.

* * *

It was 11.55 pm. Troy waited in the living room waiting for Gabriella to come home. He started to get worried. _Where could she be?_ He asked himself. The last time he'd seen her was after the doctor's appointment when she said she is going to visit her father.

Troy didn't want her to go because: a) He didn't want to be left alone with his excited mother and b) He didn't want anything happening to her when she's alone. New York City is filled with creepy people who can hurt other people.

Having the same impatient gene he got from his father, he picked up his cell phone and dialled Gabriella's number. It rang a couple of times until she picked up her phone.

"Hello?" Gabriella said, softly. Troy could tell that her voice is shaking.

"Hey, it's getting late. I was just wondering where you were. Are you ok?" he asked.

Gabriella stayed silent for a second and then she spoke, "No."

Troy began to really worry, "What's the matter? Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital. It's my dad…"

* * *

_**Hey people! Yes I'm back. :)**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had trouble writing it. I have decided for the next few chapters, there's going to be lesser humor and a little more drama. Hope that's ok. Let me know what you think. **_

_**Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	23. Falling Apart

Gabriella waited outside her father's hospital room as she waited for the doctor to come out to explain to her what happened. She had been waiting for one hour already and there aren't any chairs for her to sit but she didn't care. She took off her heals and paced in front of the door back and forth. She tried everything to keep herself calmed and relaxed and not stressed but it's very hard.

Since she has arrived in the hospital with the ambulance, she has been crying and sobbing. Every time she tried to ask the doctor what's the matter with her father, they refuse to answer and asked her to be calm and patient. She didn't understand what happened. She was having dinner with her father and then suddenly, he just collapsed. She didn't understand what happened. She needed an explanation but no one in the hospital is telling her.

"_So how was your day?" Gabriella asked during dinner as she handed her father's dinner._

"_I worked at home today. Didn't feel like going outside. But just because I am not at the office doesn't mean I can have a day off," her father replied._

"_No one said designing buildings for other people is easy, right dad?" Gabriella joked._

_Her father nodded in agreement, "So how was the doctor appointment just now? Anything good happened?" he asked._

"_Not really. Nothing new except we get to listen to the baby's heartbeat for the first time and we can now see how it looks like with its fingers and feet. Here's the picture," Gabriella said as she showed the picture of the sonogram to her father._

"_Wow. It's incredible. I remember the first your mother showed me your first sonogram. She wanted it to be a surprise so she gave it to me during my birthday and she put it in an envelope. I can still remember when she confirmed that she was pregnant. She looked so excited and so was I but I have to say, the day you were born is one of the best days of my life. I remember when I first held you in my arms and you were wrapped in a pink blanket. When I first spoke to you, you started to move your fingers as if trying to find something and when I let you hold my finger, you grabbed it tightly seemingly to tell me that I will always have you. It was my one of my favourite memory," her father said._

_Gabriella smiled. Honestly, she didn't know what to say next. Then her father continued, "I hope that one day, when your baby is born, I hope that Troy will have the same feeling I had when I first held you," her father said._

_Gabriella eyes grew in suspicion, "Dad, why are you talking about this?"_

_Her father just shrugged, "I'm just saying. Excuse me; I have to go to the bathroom."_

_Gabriella nodded as her father got up and walked to his bathroom. Fifteen minutes have past, Gabriella just finished her dinner but her father is still not back yet. Gabriella cleaned up the table and put her father's leftover in the microwave while she went to find her father. She knocked the bathroom door._

"_Dad?" She called. "Dad? Are you ok?"_

_There was still no answer. She realised that the door wasn't locked. "Daddy? I'm coming in now."_

_When she opened the door, her father wasn't inside. She turned to the other that leads to her father's bedroom. It was opened. She walked through the door and was shocked to find her father on the bedroom floor unconscious. "DAD!" she cried as she ran to him. "DAD! Wake up! DADDY?" Gabriella pleaded but he didn't respond._

_Gabriella then grabbed the nearest telephone and called for an ambulance._

The memory of what happened brought tears into Gabriella's eyes. She can't believe what she had just experienced. It is the most unfortunate thing to happen to her in her life. Suddenly, her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller's name and it read Troy. Gabriella thought that Troy was probably worried for her still not at home yet.

"Hello?" she answered softly, trying to not sound like she's crying.

"Hey, it's getting late. I was just wondering where you were. Are you ok?" Troy asked with concern in his voice.

Gabriella stayed silent for a second. Telling Troy of what happened could make her cry even more. She's not ready to explain it to someone whereas she didn't know the full details yet. "No."

"What's the matter? Where are you?" he asked again. This time sounding more concern and worried.

Gabriella took a deep breath before answering him, "I'm at the hospital. It's my dad. He collapsed during dinner and I don't know why. The doctors won't tell me anything and I've been waiting outside his room for an hour already and no one has come to me to explain anything," she said while crying.

"Stay where you are. I'll be there as soon I can. Try not to get stressed out Gabriella," he said.

"No. You don't have to be here. I'll be fine," Gabriella objected.

"But you're alone and what if something happens to you?" Troy said.

Gabriella thought that Troy does have a point. With all the stressed she's having now, she might do something to damage herself and the baby. "Alright. I'm at the third floor."

"Ok, I'm coming," Troy said.

"Hey, Troy?" Gabriella called.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"No problem. I'll see you soon. Bye," he said then hanging up.

Gabriella had to admit, listening to Troy's voice put a smile on her face for some reason. And with the way he talked to her, he wasn't making fun of her, he sounded concerned and caring. She liked this side of him. It was the side that made Gabriella smile all the time. This is the Troy that Gabriella wanted to be with. Gabriella rubbed her baby bump and secretly told the baby how lucky it is to have a father like that.

Suddenly a doctor walked to Gabriella, interrupting her thoughts. Gabriella quickly stood up. "How's is he?" she asked quickly.

"Perhaps you might want to brace yourself for this," the doctor said.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked.

"Your father first came to me when he realised that he hasn't been having an appetite to eat anything for almost two weeks. He started to throw up a lot and lost a couple of weight. At first I thought it was just the stomach flu which is common but unfortunately…he has pancreatic cancer and it's at its final stage already," the doctor explained.

Gabriella couldn't believe the information she just received. Now that she thought about it, her father seemed to lose a lot of weight. She just thought he's been stressed out about work. She never expected that he has cancer. "How long?" she asked.

"He came to us about a year ago so we gave him some medication. Two months ago, he went for his monthly check up and we observed that the medication hasn't done much to help him. So we gave more and more medication to help him but about 6 weeks ago, he came to me and told me that he wanted to stop his medication for personal reasons," the doctor explained.

"But why would he do that?" Gabriella asked, trying to control her tears.

"Maybe he just thought he didn't have anything to live for anymore or he just knew that his time is almost up," the doctor said.

"No. He has so much more to live for. Just a few weeks ago he wanted to throw me another wedding because he didn't make the first one and that he felt guilty for it," Gabriella said. "Why didn't he tell me? I mean, it has been going on for a year. Why won't he just tell me?" she asked.

"He did tell me that you were busy on planning your job and he didn't want to stop you from achieving your dream," the doctor told her.

"He said that?" she inquired.

"Yes."

"Are you sure there isn't anything you can do to help him?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm afraid not. I don't think he has much time to live. I give him a few months or so," the doctor answered.

Gabriella's heart completely fell into bits of pieces. She can't believe her father only has a few months to live. He'll miss out on everything. The birth of his first grandchild, his grandchild's first words, first steps, everything. She needed her father for all of those things. He being absent is just not right.

Gabriella then slowly walked to her father's hospital room. She opened the door and found her dad looking out the window. She closed the door behind her but stayed near the door and away from her father.

"You lied to me," Gabriella started.

"Gabriella-," her father wanted to explain but Gabriella interrupted him.

"No. You lied to me. You said you were fine but look where you are now. You're sick. You're more than sick. You have pancreatic cancer for a year and you didn't tell me. Why not?" Gabriella asked desperately.

"I didn't want to affect you. I want you to live your life and not to be worried about me all the time," her father explained.

"If you told me a long time ago, this wouldn't be happening. Why did you stop your medication? Why did you tell the doctor you didn't have much to live for anymore? You have a lot to live for. You job, your family, me and now your first grandchild. Don't you even want to meet your first grandchild?" Gabriella demanded.

"That was before you told me you told you were pregnant," her father explained.

"But before Troy and I told you the truth, didn't you think about our future. What if we were falling in love and were really getting married because we love each other? What if one day in the future we decided to have a family? Don't you want to be a part of it?" Gabriella asked while sobbing.

"I guess I wasn't thinking," her father answered. "Gabriella, like I said, you shouldn't be worried about me. I want you to live your own live with your family. This is the time for you to not think about me. I'll be fine-"

"Fine? You are far from fine. Look at you. You're connected to wires and all the hospital stuff. You are not fine at all. I hate you dad," Gabriella said while walking to her father. She then sat on the chair.

"And you should be. You have the right to be angry at me," her father accepted it.

Gabriella's tears began to form even more. Why was her father accepting his mistake? Her father then put his hand on Gabriella's face to wipe the tears away. "I didn't mean that. I love you dad. Always. You took care of him. You love me. You took care of me when mom wasn't here. You were always there for me when no matter how good or bad I am. Whenever I need help, you were there to help me solve it. You're a good father. Don't ever doubt that," Gabriella said.

"I know," her father replied.

Just then, a nurse entered. "I'm sorry but I'm afraid you leave miss. It's far past visiting hours and your father needs his rest."

"Just go Gabriella. I have all the doctors and nurse in the hospital to take of me," her father said.

"Ok. I'll come back in the morning dad. I promise," Gabriella promised.

"Alright. See you," her father replied.

Gabriella then left the hospital room and walked to the lift. When the lift opened, it revealed Troy. "Hey," he greeted. "Are you leaving? Is your dad ok?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Visiting hours starts in the morning. I'm leaving now," Gabriella said.

"Ok, let's go then," Troy said as he held out his hand to Gabriella. Gabriella grabbed it tightly and stood beside Troy.

"Thanks for coming here and being caring," Gabriella said.

"Hey, anything for you. I do still owe you a favour right?" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She wondered when the favour will be over soon. "Anyways, are you ok? Are you stressed out?" Troy asked.

"I'm trying not to be," Gabriella answered. "Stress isn't good for the baby," she said she rubbed her belly.

"Well you shouldn't be. I'll help you keep your mind of this. I promise."

* * *

_**So how was that? Well done? I hope so.**_

_**Anyways, did anyone saw the Charlie St. Cloud movie trailer? I did and it was awesome. What did you guy think of it?  
**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	24. Awkward

**Please Read Till The End. Thank You!**

It was early in the morning and Troy couldn't go to sleep for some reason. Just half an hour ago, he and Gabriella just got back from the hospital and Gabriella had told Troy all about her father's cancer. Although he barely knows her father, it was a shock to find out that he has cancer. He looked so healthy on the outside. He didn't expect him to have any cancer at all.

On the ride home, after Gabriella explained everything to Troy, they both fell into silent. Gabriella was looking out the window, probably still depressed by the news of her father. He wondered what else she could be thinking of. Could she be thinking of him for some reason? It's possible right? Troy sighed as he wondered when the favour is going to be over. He needed to tell Gabriella his true feelings for her before it's too late but now is probably not a good time. She's under a lot of stress and he didn't want to add up with the stress.

While staring at the ceiling, Gabriella, who is sleeping right next to him with the pillow in between them, turned to his side. Troy looked at her sleeping soundly. She looked so peaceful. It's as if everything that happened before she went to bed never happened. Troy looked down at her belly. Her shirt exposed her baby bump. Troy slowly moved the pillow in between them and lay next to her tummy.

During the doctor appointment earlier, the doctor told them that she knew the gender of the baby is. Gabriella wanted it to be a surprise but Troy didn't. He didn't like surprises so when Gabriella was preparing to leave, Troy came to the doctor and asked for the gender. He was happy to know that they will be expecting a baby girl. He knew it was going to be a girl. He didn't know how but he has a feeling.

He slowly strokes the baby bump slowly and spoke, "Hey. I'm not sure if you can hear me right now. Sorry if I interrupt you sleeping or anything. I just needed someone to talk to. So how's it going in there? I hope me knowing your gender doesn't ruin your mommy wanting it to be a surprise. You're probably wondering who I am, right? Well little girl, I'm your daddy. The doctor said that sometimes it good for mommy and daddy to talk to you so when you're born, you could easily recognise us," he whispered.

Troy didn't care if the baby didn't talk back to him. Somehow he can feel her listening intently. He continued, "You're probably wondering why mommy is so sad just now right? Well, I can't explain it to you because it's complicated. But you'll know once you're here. You'll also wonder why mommy and daddy isn't so close sometimes right? Well, that's also complicated also. All you should know that you are no mistake or an accident or unplanned. If anybody asked, you're a wonderful surprise. Got it? And one more thing you should know, I love you so much. If you asked if I love mommy too, well I do. I love her. I just have trouble telling her. Can you help daddy telling mommy that I love her?"

Suddenly, Troy felt something while stroking Gabriella's baby bump. It felt like a kick. Troy was stunned. Could it be real or was he just imagining it because he's tired? About thirty seconds later, it kicked again. This time, Gabriella felt it and started to shuffle in the bed. Troy quickly took the pillow and placed it back in between them and faced the other way of the bed before Gabriella suspects anything.

Gabriella then jerked up and felt her stomach again. It was another kick. She couldn't believe it. It is her baby's first kick. She looked over to Troy who was sleeping. She slowly touched his arm and tried to wake him up.

"Troy," she whispered, but no respond. "Troy, wake up!"

"Hmm? What? What is it?" Troy asked, purposely trying to sound annoyed.

"It's the baby. The baby started kicking," she answered excitedly.

"Really?" Troy replied, trying to act surprise.

"Yeah! Come, feel it," Gabriella said while pulling Troy's hand to her stomach. There it is again. The baby is kicking again. Troy had a smile that matched Gabriella's. They were both so happy.

Troy examined Gabriella's face. She looked so happy compared to how she looked before. Troy can't help but leaning in closer and he started to touch her lips, kissing it softly. When realising what he did, he pulled back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know why I did that-," Troy apologised before getting interrupted by Gabriella wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately. Troy was confused by her actions but didn't stop her at all. It had been a very long time since they kissed each other and this time, he wants it to last.

Gabriella slowly started to climb on top of Troy without removing her lips from him. She continued to kiss him while Troy slowly slid his hands under her shirt. He started to slowly rub her back while Gabriella struggled to get his shirt off.

After getting his shirt off, Gabriella pushed Troy to lie down while she helped Troy to get her shirt off. After that, she started to kiss his neck while Troy moans her name. It didn't take Troy to be drunk to want to have sex with Gabriella but he wondered if the moment was right. Gabriella came home depressed, then woke up happy because of the baby kick and now here she is on top of him and making out. It's not like Troy didn't want to have sex. He does but not when Gabriella is at a very vulnerable stage. He didn't want Gabriella to regret it the next day.

"Wait. Stop," Troy said.

Gabriella stopped and looked into his eyes, "What?" she asked innocently.

"I don't know if we should do this," Troy said.

"Oh," Gabriella said. Her facial expression then turned embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what came over me," she said while getting up and wearing back her shirt.

"No, it's fine. It wasn't your fault. I just thought you had a long day and that you should rest. I don't want you doing something stupid," Troy said.

"You thought that was stupid?" she questioned.

"No. I mean, I didn't mean it that way-," Troy said.

"Then what did you mean then?" Gabriella questioned again.

"I just don't want to make you regret doing something you don't want to do. That's all," Troy said.

"What makes you think I would regret this?" she asked.

_She's not letting this go._ Troy thought. What was he suppose to say? "I just think you're just too tired-"

"So you're saying that after a long day and being pregnant, I'm not active enough?" she questioned once more. "You know what, don't answer that. Let's just forget this ever happened and that we only woke up because of the baby kick. Goodnight Troy," she declared before lying down on the pillow, not facing Troy.

_Hormones. Chapter 2 pg 32. _Troy sighed as he remembered the page he read in one of the pregnancy books. Now that Gabriella's not throwing up much anymore, her hormones will start to kick in almost every day and a few minutes is torturing enough. Troy might be thinking selfishly at that moment but he knew what just happened is not helping him to get Gabriella to fall for him. What's weird was Gabriella was the one who climbed on top of him. He didn't do anything to persuade Gabriella otherwise. Could she already have feelings for him?

The next day, during his break, Troy decided to visit Gabriella's father at the hospital. He wasn't sure what to get her father. Giving him foods could be offensive considering that he might not be able to consume any solid food. Not that Troy knows anything about pancreatic cancer but he just doesn't want to do something stupid.

When he arrived at the level where her father is, Troy walked slowly as he prepares what to say when he enters the hospital room. Troy and Gabriella did have an awkward morning. They didn't say much to each other and Troy's mother began to question. Troy explained that Gabriella was probably worried about her father that's all.

When he arrived outside the room, he took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob but someone was opening it from the other side. The door opened and revealed Gabriella. Troy looked further in the room and saw her father asleep.

"Oh, hi. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I just thought I'd say hi and visit your dad. That's ok, right?" he inquired.

"Uh, I guess. I'm going to bathroom for a while. You can stay here with my dad for the moment," Gabriella said.

"Ok. Sure," he replied.

As Gabriella left the room, Troy entered and closed the door behind him. _That went well,_ he thought.

"She likes you, you know," Greg spoke.

Troy turned his head. He didn't know her father was awake. Did he happen to hear the awkward moment? "Excuse me?" Troy asked.

"She likes you," Greg repeated. "Even when she doesn't admit it. I know she does."

"How do you know?" Troy asked.

"A father just knows what daughter is thinking sometimes," Greg explained.

Troy gave him a questioning look. "Really?" he asked.

"If you don't believe me then fine. But I'm telling you, she has a thing for you," Greg says.

"Well she has a weird way of showing it," Troy commented.

"Did you ever admit it to her?" Greg asked.

"No. But that doesn't mean I don't like her. Mr. Montez, I know it's weird to say this but I'm in love with Gabriella. Honestly. She makes me feel somehow, normal. Even though we fight and argue a lot, she's the only person who has been so honest with me and she has been supporting me through whatever I'm going through. No one in my family, except my mom, ever really acknowledges me or takes me seriously. But she…she just understands me and I really like that about her," Troy admitted. It felt good to finally admit it even if it's not to Gabriella.

"Why don't you just tell her? Are you afraid?" Greg asked.

"Yes. I'm afraid that she won't like me. Ever since after the night me and Gabriella…conceived the baby, I couldn't help but falling for her. And since then, I've been trying everything to make her like me so it'll be a lot easier for me to admit it to her when she actually likes me. I even read women's and teenage girl's magazines for advice and help. It sounds ridiculous but to be honest, none of those advices worked," Troy said.

"That's because a bunch of words in a print doesn't help true love. You have to work at it if you're really in love with someone. Magazine columns don't help true love. You help yourself and have your soul mate work it with you even if it's hard or awkward," Greg advised.

Now that Troy thought about it, her father was right. He shouldn't be following advice or stories from a magazine. He just needs to help himself. Prove to himself that he is not afraid to admit love to someone he truly cares about. "Thanks. Maybe your advice could help me. But if you don't mind, I would like to keep this between us. I don't want Gabriella finding out from someone else," Troy said.

"My lips are sealed. I wish I could help you but I can't even move my hands," Greg said. "Pancreatic cancer isn't a joke. It could really damage you badly."

"I'm sorry for this to happen to you," Troy said.

"It's not like it's you're the one who caused this. The only person causing this is me," Greg said.

"Gabriella told me that you stopped taking medications. Why?" Troy wanted to know.

"I guess I just know that my time is going to be up anyways so why not just end it," Greg said.

"But why? It's not like you don't have anything to live for. You have Gabriella to live for. Knowing her, she'll be devastated to find out that you past away," Troy reasoned.

"I've been taking care of Gabriella for 26 years. She's old enough to take care of herself. And if she has bumps along the way, I know you'll be there for her. I can tell that you wouldn't let her go or let anything to hurt her right?" Greg asked.

"I would never," Troy assured him.

"I know you wouldn't," Greg smiled.

"Speaking of bumps, yesterday I found out the sex of the baby. Gabriella doesn't know yet because she wants it to be a surprise. Do you want to know?" Troy asked.

"Wow. Two surprises in one day. Lay it on me," Greg smiled.

"Well, let's just say, you're going to have a granddaughter," Troy announced.

"That's wonderful. And she doesn't know?" Greg asked.

"Not a clue. I wanted to found out because I don't really like surprises," Troy said.

"I can assure you that I wouldn't let it out. That I promise you," Greg said.

Suddenly, the door opened and Gabriella came back. She was surprised to see her father awake.

"Dad? You're awake. I thought you were asleep," Gabriella said.

"I think I got enough sleep already Gabriella. Troy kept me company for the meantime," Greg said.

Gabriella turned to Troy and gave him a friendly smile as if to say 'thank you'. Then she turned to her father. "Do you need anything dad? More pillows or anything?" Gabriella offered.

"No, it's ok. You've done enough for me pumpkin. Maybe you and Troy should go to the food court downstairs and have lunch. I'll be fine here," Greg said.

"Ok. I'm getting hungry anyways," Gabriella said. "I'll see you back here around thirty minute ok?"

"Take all the time you need. Please, I insist," Greg said.

After leaving the hospital room, Troy and Gabriella had lunch just like what her father wanted them to do. Without her father around, they went back to their awkward silent phase. Troy knew he needed to break the ice.

"So when is your dad getting out of the hospital?" he asked.

"I don't know. He could be here awhile," Gabriella answered. "Troy, I need to tell you something."

"Sure. You can tell me anything," Troy said. Inside, he was wondering what Gabriella was going to tell him? Was she admitting her love for him or did she wanted to talk about yesterday night?

"I….."

* * *

_**CLIFFHANGER! HAHA. I'm evil. What do you think Gabriella wants to tell Troy about?**_

_**So what do you think? Sorry for the suspense but I just needed to know if all my readers are with me. If you're a true Forced To Be Wed reader, PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_**Anyways, I have a question for you guys:**_

_**Do you think I am dragging the story? If so, you can tell me the reason because I feel like I'm dragging it.**_


	25. All Wrong!

_**Short chapter but please read till the end.**_

"I…I have been thinking that after my father gets admitted out of the hospital, I've been thinking of staying with him for the time being before he…you know," Gabriella said, softly.

Troy's face completely dropped to the floor. He wasn't expecting her to say that. What happened to saying she loved him? Forget that, what about the fact that she wants to leave Troy in the apartment all by himself? "Oh," he replied.

"It's not like I'm abandoning you. No, I just…I want to be close to him before he leaves. I haven't been doing much of that for the past couple of years. I just needed to know that it is ok with you. Is ok right?" Gabriella asked.

A selfish part of Troy wanted to tell Gabriella not to go because he would miss her too much but a caring part of Troy didn't want to hold Gabriella back from trying to take care of her own father but he didn't want Gabriella to go just yet. It feels like he's letting her go. But he has to be supportive of her. "I guess it is ok," Troy answered.

"Are you sure? Because if you're against it then I won't do it," Gabriella asked.

"No. Why would be against it? He's your father and you're his daughter. You deserve to spend some father-daughter bonding time with one another," Troy confirmed.

Gabriella smiled and hugged Troy tightly, "Oh, thank you for being so understanding," Gabriella said.

As Gabriella was hugging Troy, Troy didn't want to let go. He wanted to hug Gabriella forever. But of course, things never go his way when Gabriella pulled back from the hug. "It's no problem. It's not like I'm never going to see you again," Troy said.

"Exactly, you're invited to come to my dad's house whenever you want. We'll have dinner and you can spend time with my dad since you two are close now," Gabriella said.

"Cool. I'm looking forward to it," Troy smiled.

"You know, to be honest, my dad has never been close to any of my guy friends or any guy that talks to me. He won't even let me have a date to my senior prom. I had to go with him instead," Gabriella said.

"No way," Troy said.

"Really. My school even made this headline in the school newspaper that says 'Montez girl takes Montez dad to Dance' and it even had a picture of us posing. It was so embarrassing. I actually wanted to go with this one guy I have been flirting with for a while," Gabriella said.

Jealousy started tingle in Troy's body. He didn't understand why he was being jealous. It's not like Gabriella still likes the guy. "Really? Who is he?" he asked, trying to hide the insecurity in his voice.

"Oh, his name is Derek Hotz and he's just this guy in my literature class. He plays soccer and totally hot. He has this blonde hair and sun-kissed skin. What's cool about him is that his eyes are different colour. One is blue and the other is green. What's more awesome about him is that he's not shallow, he's nice and he's so romantic!" Gabriella told as she remembered.

That was not helping Troy dealing with the jealousy. This Derek guy seemed to capture Gabriella's heart than Troy is. "How do you know he's romantic?" he asked.

"We use to secretly date each other," Gabriella answered, dreamily.

Troy noticed the dreamy look in Gabriella's face. She still remembers this Derek guy. What did that guy got that Troy doesn't? So Derek has blonde hair, Troy has light brown hair. Light brown haired guys are more attractive than blonde haired guys' right? So he has one blue and one green eye, Troy has two sparkling blue eyes that attracted many girls in his high school. "What kind of romantic thing did he ever done for you?" he asked.

"Oh, you know the basic romantic stuff. He brought me to the roller rink and gave me a fake flower because he says that it'll lasts more than real ones. It was also the place where we got our first kiss. After that, we went to the arcade and help me win a big teddy bear. My favourite date personally was the time we spend time somewhere in the park where there isn't anyone and we had a romantic picnic by the sunset," Gabriella told him.

First kiss at a roller rink? Went to the arcade? That sounds more like a play-date to Troy. Then again, Gabriella isn't a romantic type of person herself. He could bring Gabriella to all those places by himself, you know, if he knew Gabriella back then. Ok, so winning the big teddy bear part and the picnic by the sunset part was romantic but Troy could do better. At least he thinks he can. "Why didn't you two go out anymore?" he asked.

"We parted ways during college. I went to NYU and he went somewhere. Never heard from him since. Now that I think of it, some of that romantic stuff is cheesy. I mean, picnic by the sunset? I rather have a picnic in my backyard," Gabriella said.

"So you're saying that what he did, is just, stupid?" Troy asked, hopefully.

"Not really. It was sweet too. I felt so happy when I'm out with him. He's my first real crush but I never referred to him as my boyfriend," Gabriella answered.

"Why not?" he asked again.

"He never asked. I know he likes me but he never admit it. He went to dates but we never really talked about being boyfriend and girlfriend. I was sad about it but I didn't let it get to me. There are much more important things in life. Back in high school, 'much important things in life', is getting into trouble without getting caught," Gabriella joked.

Troy and Gabriella both laughed. Troy realised that this was the longest conversation they had without them arguing. He liked it. He hoped their future conversations will be end up like this. Suddenly, Gabriella starts to hold her stomach.

"What's the matter?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled, "Nothing. I guess I'm not use to the baby kicking and moving inside me yet," she said.

"Well I guess you have to get use to it right? Plus, a kicking and moving baby is a healthy baby," Troy pointed out.

"Totally," Gabriella agreed. "You want to feel the baby?"

Troy nodded and put his hand on Gabriella's stomach. He could feel his little girl moving inside Gabriella. "Are you sure you don't want to know the sex of the baby?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm still regretting for not finding out but at the same time I want it to be a surprise," Gabriella said.

"Well I know the gender of the baby," Troy boasted.

"Shut up," Gabriella said in disbelief. "How do you know?"

"While you were getting ready to leave, I asked the doctor," Troy answered.

"That's not fair! I wanted us to both find out together. It's more fun that way," Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled, "No it isn't."

"Yes it is," Gabriella debated.

"Well you might be the person who is patient but I am not like you. I don't like surprises. Although if you are like me, I don't mind telling you the sex of the baby," Troy offered.

"No! Don't tell me now. Tell me when I ask you to tell me. Do you promise?" Gabriella asked.

"Promise," Troy said. "So I guess this means you'll be packing a few of your things so you can stay with your dad right?"

Gabriella shrugged, "I guess so. Unless you don't think it's a great idea."

Troy shook his head furiously, "No! No. I was just thinking that you should be careful. You're pregnant and your dad is sick. You're both very vulnerable and I don't want anything happen to you two," Troy said.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine," Gabriella assured him by touching his hand.

"I know you'll be," Troy said.

"Troy? Is there anything at all do you want to tell me?" Gabriella asked randomly.

_Yes! I want to tell you that I love you!_ Troy wanted to say but instead he played it cool. "No. Why? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"Actually yes," Gabriella said. "About last night…I wanted to apologize again. I didn't know what came over me. I guess it's because I hit ending of my first trimester and my hormones are going haywire."

"That's cool. I mean, I was the one who kissed you first anyways," Troy said.

"About that," Gabriella continued, "Are you like half European or something?"

"What? Why did you ask that?" he wanted to know.

"You seemed to be a kisser. Sometimes when we're quiet or whatever, you always tried to kiss me," Gabriella pointed out.

_Oh crap! What am I going to answer now? _Troy thought panicky in his head. "Well…it's very complicated actually…" Troy then glanced at his watch and changed the subject. "Oh! Look at the time. Lunch is over. I should get back to work and you should get back taking care of your dad. I'll see you at home. Bye!"

With that, Troy ran out of the food court leaving a confused Gabriella behind. While getting into his car, Troy literally felt like punching himself. He can't believe he chickened out about telling Gabriella that he has strong feelings for her. What the hell is wrong with him?

* * *

_**Alright, short chapter. I know. I just needed to get this chapter out because I am so grateful with the amount of reviews I had for the last chapter! You guys are the best.**_

_**I apologise for making this a short one but think of it as a bonus chapter because I appreciate you guys so much!**_

_**I enjoyed reading all your reviews. Thanks for encouraging me.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW and I will post the next chapter as soon as I get 10+ reviews!**_


	26. Thanksgiving Much?

Two months has passed since Gabriella left her and Troy's apartment to stay with her father. Nothing much has changed except for the fact that her father is getting sicker everyday which made Gabriella very worried. She was glad Troy came and visits her and her father almost every day. To be honest, she really misses Troy a lot. It's kind of weird not being awakened late at night by his loud snoring.

She also grew worried about Troy. Since she's not there to be up to date to Troy most of the time, she wondered what he usually does at the apartment all by himself. She even imagined him bringing girls home. Then she thought they weren't technically married so he can do whatever he wants. But is bringing girls his benefit to their fake marriage? Troy hasn't done it before but that could be only because Gabriella was always at home.

Then again, Gabriella could tell that he might be starting to like her as she is to him. He had been showing a lot of signs. He's been trying to kiss her a couple of times before getting interrupted and the way he kissed her after feeling their baby's first kick was amazing and sweet. There's something about kissing Troy that just makes Gabriella excited but at the same time calm. Troy also showed a little bit of signs when Gabriella was getting ready to leave the apartment to stay with her father.

"_Are you sure you want to do this because if you think it's inconvenient or anyway, I don't mind having your dad living with us here. My mom moved out and we have the guest room empty," Troy reasoned as he walks in to Greg Montez's apartment building's lobby. He was carrying her heavy suitcase but at the same time trying to convince her not to leave him all alone._

"_Having my dad living with us will be more inconvenient Troy," Gabriella replied. "Besides, call me selfish, but I don't want him dying in our house."_

"_I know that but you know, it's going to be different around the house without you around," Troy said honestly._

"_I thought you'd be happy without having me at home so, you know, we won't get into fights over who gets to decide what to watch on TV and stuff," Gabriella said._

"_Well maybe I'm going to miss arguing with you," Troy said, sounding flirty._

"_I doubt that," Gabriella replied while stepping into the elevator._

"_Really, I will also miss how our baby gets to grow everyday inside you," Troy added._

"_You sound like I'm leaving you for good," Gabriella said. "Plus, I thought you said you were going to visit any time you can."_

"_Of course but it just wouldn't be the same," Troy pointed out, smirking. Gabriella turned away, secretly blushing.  
_

Gabriella could easily tell his flirty tone but she chose to ignore it. Troy was probably just playing with her. In fact, they have been very flirty with each other more than they do while living together. Gabriella thought it was just her pregnancy brain playing with her mind that is telling her that Troy is into her.

Today is Thanksgiving Day and Troy and Gabriella had invited the Bolton family to spend it together with Gabriella's father at his apartment. Troy thought it would be a perfect way for their parents to get to know one another since they haven't met once. Gabriella at first objected the idea because she didn't want to show the Bolton family how sick her father is. Not that she's embarrassed or anything. She just doesn't want her father to be embarrassed of his own illness. But they talked to him about it and he is more than glad to meet Troy's family.

More and more everyday Gabriella grew sadder as she counted the last few days she's going to see her father ever again. At times she'll cry to sleep at night knowing that her father won't get to see the rest of her life. He's going to miss a lot of things once he's gone. They even talked about it for the first time when Gabriella first brought her father home from the hospital.

"_Here we are!" Gabriella said, while holding her father's arm while stepping out of the elevator._

"_Gabriella, I'm not retarded, I know where I am," her father said sarcastically._

_Troy chuckled while standing behind them. Gabriella turned her neck and sent Troy a death glare and he quickly stopped._ "_I knew that. I just want to break the silence. It has been very quiet since we reached here," she reasoned._

"_Well I think we might have a lot more to talk about since you are living here with me. I have to ask one last time, are you sure you want to stay with me?" her father inquired._

"_Absolutely, I just don't want anything to happen to you," Gabriella said._

"_You worry too much but I'm glad you decided to do this. It's been a long time since I have a special father bonding time with my daughter and her 'husband'," her father said while emphasizing on the word husband to Troy._

"_Right, I am so happy to be here to support my wife," Troy said while putting his arm around Gabriella. When her father saw him doing that, her father stared at him in a look that says 'hands off'. Troy quickly obeyed and took his arms away and pretended to be stretching._

"_So are you going to visit a lot Troy?" her father asked._

"_Sure. I'll come whenever I can. I don't mind at all," Troy answered._

"_Wonderful. Maybe one day we could have your family to have dinner with us. I still haven't met your parents," her father said._

"_Oh, trust me, you don't want to meet them," Troy said._

"_Why not?" her father asked._

"_I rather not explain it now. You might want Gabriella to divorce me," Troy joked._

_Troy and Mr. Montez laughed together. Gabriella was somehow glad that her father accepted Troy. They laughed and started to talk more as Gabriella settled in the guestroom of her father's apartment. That night also, Troy and Gabriella made dinner together and the three of them all had a wonderful dinner._

_During the dinner, there was never a dull moment and no awkward silence. They really got along with one another like a real family. Gabriella was happy with it. She never really had a real family moment for a long time. Since college, she could tell how distant her and her father is._

"_This is a great dinner. I had never tasted a good meal cooked by Gabriella," her father joked._

"_Why does everybody think my cooking isn't good? I can cook," Gabriella convinced._

"_Sure you can pumpkin. But next time, try not to burn your cooking," her father joked and then sighed. "This is nice. I haven't been spending a lot time with you in years."_

"_Dad, I'm sorry I haven't been really there for you for the past few years. I'm your little girl. I'm not supposed to be distant from you. I should've been there with you," Gabriella said._

"_Hey, come on. I'm not gone yet and you're already preparing my funeral speech?" her father joked._

"_I'm serious dad. You're going to miss a lot of things when you're gone," Gabriella said._

"_I know that but God knows my time here is up. But don't worry; I'll still be here with you. You can't just see me, that's all," her father said._

"Gabriella?" Gabriella quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she heard her name. She turned around from the dining table which she has been arranging and found Troy and his parents.

"Oh hi," Gabriella greeted. "I'm sorry; I didn't hear you come in. It's so nice to see you again."

Lucille quickly gave her daughter-in-law a hug, "It's so nice to see you too. I haven't been seeing much of you lately."

"Yeah, I've been super busy but it was worth it," Gabriella answered. She then turned to Troy's father and shook his hand.

"I can see baby Bolton is growing healthily," Jack pointed out.

Gabriella looked down at her 5 month growing baby bump. More recently, Gabriella had hard times getting up from the couch and bed. But the doctor said she was lucky. Some women have bigger baby bump than her. "Yeah, it is," Gabriella agreed.

"Um, mom, dad, why don't you get seated here while I'll get the food out," Troy said.

"And I'll be right back. I just need to get my dad so you can meet him," Gabriella said before making her way to her father's room.

"Daddy? Troy's parents are here. Do you want to meet them now?" she asked her father who is sitting on a wheelchair while staring out of the window.

"Sure. I've been looking forward to this since you mention this to me," her father answered.

Recently, Gabriella's father is getting sicker. He is at the stage where he can't move much anymore or eat any solid food. It breaks Gabriella's heart knowing that her father's condition is getting worse. Her father's doctor said that she'll have to prepare for his departure any time soon.

Gabriella then helped to push her father's wheelchair to the dining room where Lucille, Jack and Troy were and having a conversation. As soon as they saw her father, they stood up to greet him.

"Hi, I'm Jack and this is my wife, Lucille," Jack introduced. "Troy has told us so much about you."

"He has mentioned a lot about the two of you too. I apologised for my disability to stand up to greet you properly," her father said.

"It's no harm at all. Let's dig in," Lucille said.

During dinner, all of them started to have conversations and they were all getting along. There was teasing and a whole lot of laughter. To sum it all, they were having one of the most unforgettable dinners they will never forget.

"Jack, Lucille, I need to bring your attention toward something," Len started.

"What is it?" Lucille asked.

"Well, since I didn't make it to Troy and Gabriella's real wedding, I have been actually planning a second wedding for them," Len announced.

Troy's mother's face lit up immediately when she heard: _second wedding_. Troy's father also lit up a little bit but Troy and Gabriella's face didn't light up a bit.

"Daddy, I thought you forgot everything about it right after we told you about _that_," Gabriella said.

"I never forget something this important Gabriella," Len pointed out then faced Lucille. "I was thinking about having it at this country club just outside New York called Season Springs. It's this country club Gabriella just loves when she was a teenager. My friend owns that country club and Gabriella practically goes there every day because they have this private beach for members only. Gabriella even told me how she would love to be married at the beach."

"When I was _twelve_," Gabriella reminded him.

"I've heard of Season Springs' beach. We've been there with Troy when he was a little boy. The dining room there is simply magnificent," Lucille commented.

Troy faced his mother, "We have?"

"Don't you remember Troy? It's the same place where you first lost your bathing suit while you were swimming," Jack reminded him and got Gabriella laughing hard. Troy immediately remembered the most embarrassing summer in his life. He was swimming in the pool with his brother but after a while his then 18 year old brother was already out of the pool and flirting with other girls. He was so angry at his brother that he immediately got out of the pool without realising his bathing suit was in the water, floating.

"Oh my god, that was you! You're the kid that lost his pants while swimming in the pool. I heard of you. One of the friends in the country club said you didn't know you didn't have your pants on until when your mother pointed it out to you," Gabriella said.

"I can't believe you manage to remember that. I forced myself to forget it until now," Troy said.

"How can't I? Although I wasn't there I can tell how embarrassing it might have been," Gabriella said, still giggling.

"Ok, back to the wedding discussion. Anyways, I think they should have the wedding until after the baby is born. That way, the baby will be a part of the wedding," Len said.

"But you wouldn't," Gabriella added.

"I know that but I want you to do this. For me," Len convinced.

"But you won't be there. What's the point of you planning the wedding when you're not going to be there? Can we just forget it?" Gabriella pleaded.

"No, I will not just forget it. I did something unacceptable and this is something to show you how sorry and supportive I am to you. Please Gabriella. It will make me happy. It will you mom happy," Len said.

Gabriella rolled her eyes when Len played the 'mom' card on her. He usually does that whenever Gabriella does something bad or whenever he wants Gabriella to do something for him. Gabriella thought about it for a moment and sighed, "Fine. We'll do a second wedding for you, dad," Gabriella said.

"Excellent! The best part is, since we have more time to plan, it will be the biggest wedding in Bolton-Montez history!" Lucille announced.

"That's great," Troy said while faking a smile. He then looked over at Gabriella who's was facing to her plate, playing with her food. Troy could tell she was thinking that this was a very bad idea.

* * *

_**Sorry for the delay for this chapter. I wanted to post it yesterday but never got to finish it. I am so happy with all of your reviews that I have decided that in the end of almost every chapter, I will write a sneak peek of the some of the upcoming chapters. Does that sound good? Well, here's sneak peek number 1:**_

"We're not really married. Only by license..."

_**Please take note that this line is not coming out for the next chapter but for FUTURE ones. Hope that's not confusing.**_

_**Well, PLEASE REVIEW because I am working on the next chapter now!**_


	27. Moments That Don't Last

It was a rainy afternoon in New York. The rain completely fitted Gabriella Montez's feelings as she sees the casket being lowered down in a hole. The casket is filled with Len Montez's lifeless body. Gabriella felt sad but there was no tears coming out of her eyes. She was tired of crying and being depressed. She told herself to be strong but she couldn't help but crying randomly at one point.

Len Montez past away on 30 November, Monday, quietly in his room, sitting by the window. Gabriella found him when she wanted to ask serve him his dinner but instead she found her father's lifeless body. She tried all she could to wake him up but there was no use. He was gone. As people started to walk away, Gabriella stayed where she is and looked at the gravestone.

_Lenard Theodore Montez  
25 January 1956 – 30 November 2010  
Beloved Son, Husband, Father & Friend_

After sending his parents to their car, Troy came back to the graveyard to find Gabriella. Luckily, he saw her standing in front of her father's gravestone while holding her black umbrella. Troy could tell how depressed she feels. He's just afraid that something bad might happen to her due to the event that had just happened to her. The doctor told them that if Gabriella gets more stressed out, it will damage herself and the baby.

He started to slowly walk towards her and tapped her shoulder, without giving her a shock. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

Gabriella sighed, "Yeah, I guess," she said, still looking at the gravestone.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Gabriella shook her head, "I don't know," she answered, her voice starting to shake. "But I know he would want me to move on and not be such a downer for the rest of my life."

"You're right. He would want you to move on," Troy agreed.

"But the thing is I'm not ready to move on. I'm not ready to let him go. It's too hard for me," Gabriella said, already starting to cry. Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella in a concerned way. "Thanks for being here with me. I don't know what to do if I was doing this alone."

"Hey, it's no big deal," Troy assured her. "You want to go home now?"

"If it's ok, I would like to go to my dad's place and start packing his stuff, including mine too. You can come if you want," Gabriella said.

"Sure, it's not like I have anything to," Troy said, offering his hand.

Gabriella smiled, "You're a good guy Troy," she complimented.

"You're not so bad yourself," Troy replied. Gabriella giggled and walked closer to Troy while talking to each other. She hates to admit it, but she was actually falling for Troy which she told herself was completely impossible. Maybe it's due to the constant persuasion her father gave her to give Troy a chance. Gabriella's answer was always no. Then she thought, maybe she should give Troy a chance. She just needs to find a moment for her to admit it to him or better yet, make him fall in love with her that way she won't have to do the heavy lifting.

"Did you happen to have your guitar with you?" Gabriella asked.

"As the matter in fact yes. I forgot to take it out last night because of…you know," Troy answered, referring to the previous night when Gabriella called him about her father.

"Maybe you could perhaps play it in my dad's apartment. I still haven't heard the song you wrote that got you to your promotion," Gabriella pointed out.

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" Troy asked, fearing of Gabriella hearing his song.

"Sure. Why not?" Gabriella asked.

"It's not that I don't want to you to hear it. I just thought you wanted to hear it sung by someone else other than me," Troy covered.

"Why would I want that?" she asked again. "Look, if you don't want to let me hear it then its fine or whatever."

Troy was hesitant to let Gabriella hear his song because he's afraid she'll get the message behind the song that the song is about her. But he has no choice. "Alright. I'll let you listen it to her later. Right after we do whatever it is you want to do," Troy said. Gabriella smiled thankfully.

When entering her father's old apartment, Gabriella could feel tears starting to build in her eyes already. To her, even the house is dead. There was no life in it. It seems as though her father took the life out of everything from his penthouse. She scoped around the living room where her father and her use to sit down and watch TV together. She remembered the stories and laughter they shared together. Usually the couch looked like a perfect Montez conversation couch but now it looks like a usual big black couch with gold patterns on it.

"So what are you going to do with this penthouse?" Troy asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'm not sure. My dad did tell me that he wanted me to sell it. The rest of the furniture I could just leave it here or donate it to charity," Gabriella answered, while taking a seat at the couch.

"Hey, here's an idea. My parents organise a Christmas charity auction every year. I'm sure they won't mind putting your dad's old furniture and stuff in the auction. You know, if that's ok with you," Troy suggested.

"Wow, your parents organises charity auctions?" Gabriella asked, amazed. "What does your family not do?"

"I know it sounds lame but it's the only thing about my parents that I'm interested in. The money and the stuff that doesn't sell go to a few of orphanages here in New York. I visit some of the orphanages almost every time I could," Troy briefed.

"You visit orphanages?" Gabriella asked. She heart warmed at Troy's commitment with orphanages. She guessed what people say is right. You can't judge a book by its cover. In this case, Troy's cover was a conceited jerk but inside he is so sweet. "I've always wanted to do something for charity when I was little but I never got around doing it."

"Maybe you could help out this year. All you have to do is show up to the auction and then the next day, we get to visit a few orphanages. It's really simple," Troy said.

"Sure, I'll be happy to do it. I could even give some of my stuff away from auction to the children. Like my old toys and such," Gabriella suggested.

"Speaking of children, when are we going to set up the nursery for our baby?" Troy asked.

"You already started to think about that?" Gabriella asked dreamily. She is swooned by Troy's commitment towards their baby.

"Well yeah. You're going to enter your third trimester now and according to _Parenting for Dummies_ we should've set up at least some of the baby stuff by now," Troy said.

"You read a parenting book while I was away?" Gabriella asked in disbelief.

"Why is that so surprising? I did promise I read it right?" Troy challenged.

"Touché," Gabriella replied. "You know what, enough talk, let's hear that song of yours," Gabriella said excitedly.

"Alright. But before I do, I just want you to know that you might think this song is about someone but it's not. The song just came to me and nothing more ok?" Troy said.

"Whatever. I don't care. Just play it the verse and the chorus," Gabriella said.

"Alright, calm down," Troy said as he took his guitar and then he started playing it.

_Here I am  
There you are  
Why does it seem so far  
Next to you is where I should be  
Something I  
Want so bad  
Know what's inside your head  
Maybe I could see what you see_

_Gotta keep on believing  
That everything takes time  
I'll make up any reason  
To make you mine  
If you're staying or leaving  
I'll follow your lead  
So why keep pretending  
Open your eyes  
I can be what you need_

_Any kind of guy you want, girl  
That's the guy I'll be  
Turn myself upside down  
Any kind of guy you want, girl  
You know I'll agree  
Turn your whole world around_

_Any kind, any kind  
Any kind of guy you want  
You decide  
Change your mind  
I will be there  
Won't you try  
One more try  
Be my any kind of girl  
You decide  
It's alright  
I will be there_

Troy finished the song and waited for Gabriella's reaction. His worst fear is Gabriella finding out the song might be about her and then she'll get awkward around him and might even leave him. He didn't want to lose Gabriella neither did he want to let Gabriella down.

"So what do you think?" he asked, anxiously.

Gabriella smiled, "I love it."

"You do?" he asked.

"Yeah. Why don't you think I won't like it?" she asked back.

"I don't know. I thought that…never mind," Troy said.

"That was really good Troy. You're good at writing songs. You could even go all the way," Gabriella encouraged.

"Thanks. Speaking of jobs, how's your collection going?" Troy asked. It's been a while since he heard of Gabriella's clothing line for wedding dresses.

"It's going well. I just need three more dresses to fit my collection and it will in time to debut by next summer. To be honest, I'm very nervous of showing people my dresses. What if they don't like it," Gabriella said.

"What? Of course people would like it. You got a lot of compliments of your wedding dress didn't you?" Troy asked.

"Yeah but they're just normal people, not fashion critics. Critics are tougher to impress with," Gabriella said.

"Well, if it helps I think your dresses are good. You'll definitely succeed in designer and I'm not just saying it because I have to. I mean it," Troy said in a serious tone, while looking into Gabriella's eyes. Gabriella smiled at Troy and started to lean in closer to his lips. Soon, their lips started touching and Troy held on the back of Gabriella's neck while kissing her passionately. Troy couldn't help but feel happy and excited whenever he's kissing Gabriella. There was this kind of sensation that makes him feel so good whenever they kissed.

But just when Troy thought the moment couldn't get any better, Gabriella suddenly pulled back. This time, she didn't look regret. "I'm hungry," she said, innocently.

Troy chuckled, "I have some leftover McDonalds in the house. Want some?" he offered.

"I guess we can start packing my stuff tomorrow," Gabriella suggested.

"If that's ok with you, then it's alright with me," Troy replied and made Gabriella giggle.

On the way back to their apartment, Troy and Gabriella couldn't stop flirting with each other. They keep fidgeting with one another and couldn't stop staring at each other for the entire ride home. When they reached their apartment building, Troy helped Gabriella out of the car and kissed her lips softly. When he pulled back, he saw Gabriella smiling at him cheerfully. Gabriella then walked inside the apartment building with Troy following right behind her.

"Hold on, I have to grab the mail for a while," Troy said. Gabriella nodded and stood by the elevator.

After taking the mail, Troy accidently bumped into someone and dropped his mail to the floor.

"I'm sorry. I should've seen where I was going," the person who Troy bumped into said.

"No, it's cool. I wasn't paying attention," Troy said as he grabbed his mail from the ground. He then looked at the person that he bumped into. He recognised the person. The woman had short blonde hair and green eyes. "Oh, hey Amy," he greeted.

"Good evening Troy. Did you go somewhere just now?" Amy asked.

"Uh, kind of, I just got back from a funeral actually. My wife's father past away," Troy explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Well does this mean she's going to come back to live with you now?" Amy asked.

"I guess so. I hope so," Troy answered.

"Well good for you. I think if you two got more separated, you two might end up in a nasty divorce," Amy commented.

"Yeah, I just hope our divorce won't be as nasty as Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston," Troy joked and both of them laughed.

"I should really get going. My fiancée is waiting in the car for me. He's bringing me to someplace special and romantic," Amy said.

"Let me know about the place. I just might to bring Gabriella there one day," Troy said.

"Oh, I already know the place. Here I'll give you the address," Amy said as she took out a piece of paper and a pen from her purse and handed it to Troy.

"Thanks," Troy smiled.

"No problem. I'll see you around," Amy greeted as she walked away.

Troy walked to the elevator where he last saw Gabriella. For some reason, she looked agitated and angry. "Hey, I got the mail. There is some mail here for you," Troy said as he handed Gabriella's mail to her but she refused to take it. Troy was confused by her actions. Just a few minutes ago, she was all lovey-dovey with him and then suddenly she's angry with him.

"Oh, I'm sure you got more than that," she said while stepping inside the elevator.

Troy didn't know what he did. All he did was take the mail. As the elevator door opened, Troy tried his arms around her waist but she pushed him away.

"Don't touch me," she said with a death glare on her face and then stepped out of his elevator.

Troy followed closely behind and questioned her, "What is wrong with you? I thought we were cool."

"Well we weren't," she spat back.

"What are you talking about? Are you just mad because I wanted to take the mail?" Troy asked.

"No. How stupid do you I am for being mad at you for taking the mail," she answered as they reached in front of their apartment door.

"Then why are you so angry with me?" Troy asked again while opening the door.

"Figure it out on your own or rather you ask your new blonde girlfriend," Gabriella said while walking inside the apartment and taking out her shoes.

"What new blonde girlfriend? You mean Amy?" he asked.

"Oh, she has a name," Gabriella said sarcastically.

"Gabriella, Amy is our neighbour from the third floor. I happen to see her everyday while I go to work. You think I'm dating her? She has a fiancée," Troy explained.

"Oh, save it for someone who cares," Gabriella said.

"Then what were we doing back at your dad's house? I thought you liked what happened just now?" Troy said.

"Well I declared that what happened between us didn't happen," Gabriella said. "Let's just forget it."

* * *

_**What did you think? Hope it's not too boring.**_

_**Well, PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_**And here's a sneak peek:**_

"I love you."

_**Here's a little trivia for you. Who do you think will say I Love You first?**_


	28. Responsibility

**_UPDATED!_**

Ever heard of the term: The lights are on but nobody's home? Well Troy is definitely in that state right now. He turned on the TV but his head is somewhere is space. Just an hour ago both of them had a fight. Well, Gabriella technically started it but Troy caused it but it wasn't fair that she was mad at him for no reason. All she had to do was let him explain but she didn't. All she did was throw a big tantrum and walk away.

Troy didn't know if he should be angry at her or to be sad at the moment. Then he thought maybe it wasn't her being mad at him but perhaps her hormones – and jealousy are playing with her. If she's jealous, that means, she likes him. Now it all makes sense. The kissing and the constant flirting back she's been doing for a while. She likes him. Well, not anymore.

When still deep in his thoughts, suddenly, Troy heard a sound of someone sobbing. Due to the quiet atmosphere of the apartment, he could definitely tell that it was Gabriella crying in their– her room. Troy turned off the TV and walked to her room where the door wasn't locked. He then slowly opened the door, trying not to make a sound. After entering, he saw Gabriella sitting by her bed and crying. The image literally broke Troy's heart. Troy opened his mouth to speak but Gabriella suddenly spoke first. "I know you're there," she said while wiping her tears. "I heard you turning off the TV and making your way here," she continued.

"I just came to see if you were ok. You were crying," Troy said.

"You don't think I know that?" she replied sarcastically.

"Look, I'm just being nice here. You can't be mad at a guy for trying to make sure if you were ok," Troy said.

Gabriella sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm just…sad," she said.

"I can see that. Why?" Troy asked while walking to the bed and sitting next to her.

"I don't know. I mean, I know but there's just a lot in my mind right now. But most of all I'm depressed about going to bed and waking up knowing that my dad isn't here anymore. It's just heartbreaking for me," Gabriella said.

"I understand how you feel but you just need to chill out for a moment," Troy advised.

"How? Go bungee jumping?" Gabriella asked sarcastically.

"Well sure but I think it wouldn't be fun considering you're already carrying a load there," Troy said referring to her baby belly. His comment only made raised Gabriella's up seemingly to ask him if he really did just said that. "Not that I'm saying that you're fat, I was just making a point that if you did go bungee jumping now, it wouldn't be good for you and the baby," he covered.

"Relax Troy. I don't even have the energy to yell at you anymore. Speaking of which, I'm sorry for yelling at you just now," Gabriella apologised.

_She's going to take me back! _Troy thought in his head excitedly. "Oh, it's cool," he replied.

"Although I have to point out that I meant it what I said just now. Let's just forget about what happened between just now," Gabriella said while rubbing her stomach.

_And she's not taking me back. Damn it! _Troy thought. He didn't know what to answer her back. All he did was nodding and saw Gabriella trying to avoid making eye contact with him. Soon, the fall into awkward silence. As if the apartment couldn't get any quieter. Troy could practically hear the traffic going on outside.

"So, what do you say about going baby shopping tomorrow to get your mind off all the stress you have?" Troy suggested.

"I don't know. Isn't it too early to start preparing for the baby? I'm barely entering my sixth month," Gabriella said.

"So? Ok, then how about this, we'll just start buying some things to start decorating the baby room. We could buy paint and stuff and even a baby crib and a cradle or any other baby stuff we could get our hands on tomorrow. What do you say?" Troy suggested.

Gabriella shrugged, "Don't you have to work tomorrow?" she asked.

"I guess I would have to skip it then," Troy declared.

"No, you shouldn't. We have plenty of time for baby shopping. Plus you just got promoted and you ditching work might change your boss' mind about promoting you," Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, it's cool. I am my own boss now. I don't have to answer to anyone anymore. Well except the CEO of the record company but whatever. I don't care. I want to do this with you," Troy said.

Gabriella sighed in defeat, "Since you want to so badly, then alright. I guess it would be fun to pick up some baby stuff and things like that."

"Trust me, it's going to be so much fun," Troy said.

Troy took what he said to Gabriella back. The next day, Troy and Gabriella went through as many baby stores and they could. It was definitely not as fun as he thought but apparently a lot of fun for Gabriella as she is the one who kept dragging Troy from store to store. He didn't know there were so many choices for a baby crib and he couldn't believe how expensive it could be. $5000 for a baby crib? That should be illegal.

Right now, Gabriella is walking around the baby store insanely as they reached the crib aisle. She looked through the cribs one by one until she stopped at one oak coloured crib.

"Troy, what do you think of this crib?" Gabriella asked.

"It's nice," Troy answered.

"That's what you said for every crib I asked for opinion," she debated.

"Well you picked out more than one hundred cribs till I don't know what to answer next. What do you expect from me?" Troy fought back.

"I expect you to help me pick out a crib for _our_ baby," Gabriella said angrily.

"Then just pick this one already so we can finally move on and pick out the colour for the nursery," Troy replied.

"I'm not going to pick this one if you're going to be so pissed off about it. Make up your mind," Gabriella said.

"You're asking me to make up my mind. Why don't you just speak for yourself," Troy fought back.

"Gosh, relax Troy. Take a pill or something," Gabriella said as she turned to find the sales clerk for assistance. Troy froze with his mouth opened wide. He can't believe Gabriella told him to take a pill. She's the pregnant hormonal one who can't make up her mind over which crib to get. He didn't understand why it has to take one hour to pick out one crib. He can't imagine how long it would be to pick out the rest of the furniture for the nursery. He begged that all the furniture matches so he won't have to spend 24 hours picking it which goes with what.

"You're asking me to take a pill? You're the one who can't make up your mind over which crib to choose. May I remind u that we – or in this case you have been searching for it for two hours already," Troy said.

"I just want to choose the right one," Gabriella defended.

"All the cribs are the same," Troy replied.

"Maybe to you but not to me. The crib we choose could affect the baby. You don't want our baby to be sleeping in a crib which is faulty nor have termites in them do you?" Gabriella asked.

"Of course not. I just…want to get this over with so we can choose the colour of the nursery," Troy replied defeatedly.

Gabriella smiled in control, "Sure. What colour are you thinking? Since you know the baby gender, try not to pick out pink and blue. Maybe blue but no like dark blue."

"You want me to pick out the colour?" Troy asked in disbelief.

"Sure. I guess I owe it to you for walking for two hours straight," Gabriella replied.

"Ok then I want…-," before he could decide, Gabriella interrupted him.

"And not green too. I don't want the room to look like the Incredible Hulk lived there. And not purple too because I think it's going to be obvious," Gabriella said.

"Okay, well with all those aside, what do you think about yellow?" Troy asked.

"Yellow? Is that all you have?" Gabriella asked.

"Okay, well what about cream?" he suggested.

Gabriella shook her head, "Too plain. Anything else?"

Troy thought about it. What colour is suitable for a baby girl but at the same time suitable to be guessed as a boy room. "What about teal? It's not blue but it's not green. And with the furniture you chose, I think it goes."

"Teal…" Gabriella said as she tried to imagine the colour in their nursery. "I guess that could work. Oh! And at the wall where we put the crib, maybe we could draw something like a tree."

"And we could put her name at the door," Troy said, not realising what he just said.

"Her? It's that what our baby's gender is?" Gabriella asked.

"What? Did I said it's a her?" Troy said, trying to confuse her.

"Yeah. You just said it. Is it going to be a girl?" Gabriella asked excitedly.

"I didn't say it," he defended.

"But you are _denying_ it that means it _is_ a girl right?" Gabriella asked again.

"I didn't _say_ that it was a girl," he said again.

"Look, Troy, if it's not a girl, you can just deny it," Gabriella said.

"But then if I say it's not a girl then you'll know that it's a boy," Troy pointed out.

"Oh my gosh! We're going have a boy?" Gabriella asked.

"NO!" he replied quickly.

"Aha! You _denied _it's a boy so that means it's going to be a girl. I got you good," Gabriella said.

"Whatever. I don't know what you're talking about. As far I as I know, I did _not_, and in fact _not_, reveal the gender is a girl or a boy," Troy said.

"Troy, you don't have to go lawyer on me. I think I already know. We're going to have a girl!" Gabriella said excitedly. "Just admit it."

"But I thought you said you wanted it to be a surprise?" he reminded her.

"Well apparently, you blurted it out and now we know. So come on, just tell me," Gabriella begged while holding on to his wrist and giving Troy a pout.

Troy sighed heavily, "Yes," he answered.

"That means yes to a girl right?" Gabriella inquired.

Troy nodded and Gabriella quickly hugged him tightly. "Oh my gosh! I always wanted a girl. This is so exciting! Sorry I had to make you say it. As a sorry gift, you get to pick out the name of the baby," Gabriella said.

"Me? Why don't you pick it out?" Troy asked.

"I want you to pick it out," Gabriella said. "Besides, you're the one who decides the gender so now you can decide the name. But take note, I always wanted a daughter who's name starts with a letter C," she hinted.

"Why C?" he asked.

"I don't know. I find it rare to have a girl who's name starts with a letter C," she answered.

"What are you talking about? There are tons of girl whose name starts with a C like Carrie and..." he stopped naming when he realised he's out of names.

Gabriella giggled, "Exactly. I just want a name that it's not too common but at the time common enough so people won't think it's weird."

"I'll keep that in mind," Troy replied.

* * *

_**Hi! Sorry this is a little short. Did you enjoy it?**_

_**Anyways, a girl name that starts with a C. What do you think should they name their baby? Any suggestions or guesses?**_

_**P.S Please Read and Review my other story called The Disadvantages Of Being In A Clique. Here is the Summary:**_

Gabriella is a part of the most popular clique in school, the Previlaged Posse. Sharpay is the leader and founder of the clique and also known as the meanest but coolest girl in school. Gabriella is always overshadowed by Sharpay and sometimes tries to beat Sharpay at something.

When West Academy for Boys is being renovated, the boys are forced to move to East Academy for Girls. East Academy is very much happy to welcome boys but not Sharpay. She realised that her brother's, Ryan, guy clique is attracting more attention than hers. Growing angry and frustrated, she banned the Previlaged Posse from dating all the boys from West Acamdemy for good.

Gabriella dosen't like the idea because she always had a crush on Ryan's friend, Troy. When East Academy and West Acamdemy merged, Gabriella knew she had her chance but when Sharpay let out the rule, she can kiss being with Troy goodbye.

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_**And here's a sneak preview:**_

"We have to tell them the truth."

_**Tell who the truth? Leave your thoughts! :)**_


	29. Parenthood

For the next few weeks, Troy and Gabriella concentrated on the baby's nursery and buying all the baby stuff together. They put all their differences aside to make an effort to make a beautiful nursery together and having fun along the way. After buying the paint for the walls, both of them painted the room together without any help. Troy at first completely objected the idea of Gabriella doing the amount of work that she's going to do but she still insisted on helping out Troy as he couldn't do the painting all by himself. But the most work Gabriella ever did is buy the baby stuff while all Troy did was carrying the bags or assembles the crib.

With their creative minds, they managed to paint a mural on one of the walls. Right where the crib is going to be, they made a mural of a few storks and a tree at the corner. While working, they both had fun with playing with one another and fooling around in the process. During this process, they fell more in love with one another every single time but still kept quiet about it.

One weekend, Troy and Gabriella decided to take a break from decorating the baby nursery. Gabriella decided to go Christmas shopping with Sharpay while Troy made plans to meet up with some of his friends. It has been a while since he seen his friends from college. Not since the whole lying thing. They all decided to meet up at their usual spot, at the bar at the corner of Ridgeway Street. The atmosphere of the bar is just like how Troy remembered it. He used to come in every once in a while when he's bored or when he's meeting up with his friends. When he arrived, his friends were already at the bar and talking. Chad was the first one to notice Troy's arrival.

"Look who decided to take a day off the baby business," Chad joked.

"Haha, very funny," Troy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"What's up man? I haven't heard anything from you for months and then Chad just told me you got married and having a baby together? Which lady did you screw up," one of his friends, Zeke joked while shaking his hand.

"It's a long story," Troy said after ordering a glass of beer.

"We've got time," his other friend, Jason said.

"I thought Chad told you the whole story already," Troy pointed out.

"He didn't tell us what's with your brain for the past few months though," Zeke replied.

"Guys, it's complicated. I don't want to get into it now," Troy said.

"Come on, at least tell us about your loving wife who's carrying your child," Jason said.

Troy rolled his eyes and answered them, "Her name is Gabriella Montez. We met at this café where her old boss told her to go to get coffee. It was a crowded day and she landed on my lap accidently while making her way to the counter. Anyways, a week before that, my parents told me that they want to put me in an arranged marriage and of course, I didn't want to go through with it so when I met up with her again, I asked her to do pretend to be my girlfriend in exchange of her sketchbook she left behind after meeting me. She agreed to the idea and met my family and a few days later, they want me to marry Gabriella. I didn't know what to do so I panicked and proposed to her," he told them.

Zeke and Jason chuckled, "Panicked and proposed? Is that a new type of strategy to not let go of a girl?" Zeke joked.

"Shut up Zeke. Let him finish," Chad scolded him.

"And then long story short, her dad didn't approve and forced both of us to live together and then accidently slept together due to a drunken night and then got married and now we're having a baby," Troy continued.

"Wow," Jason said.

"So you two weren't thinking straight when you were drunk and then sleeping together without using any protection?" Zeke asked.

"I guess. You should've tried the wine. It was the strongest thing I've ever drink. We got drunk in less than an hour," Troy said.

"So was she good in bed?" Jason asked.

"What?" Troy asked in shocked. "Why would you even ask that?"

"Just curious," Jason answered easily.

Troy shrugged, "I guess so. I have to say I enjoyed it very much."

"Whoa, you never told me you enjoyed having sex with her," Chad said.

"Why should I tell you in the first place?" Troy asked.

Chad ignored his reply and said, "So does this means you're finally in love with your wife?"

"I don't have to answer to you guys," Troy debated.

"Yes you do. We're brothers remember. We tell each other everything," Chad said.

"You make us sound like the sisterhood or something," Zeke said.

"Shut up Zeke," Chad scolded again.

"Guys, I don't know what's the big deal is, so what if I like Gabriella. In fact, I think she likes me back but she's just having trouble admitting it," Troy said.

"Just like you?" Chad asked.

"It's complicated okay," Troy said.

"So it's complicated for you to tell Gabriella that you love her but it's not hard for you to ask her to become your pretend girlfriend?" Jason asked.

"I told you it's complicated. I'm hoping that having this baby will help us develop our relationship so she won't think that I only stayed with her because of the baby," Troy explained.

His friends nodded in understanding. "So you're going to be a dad soon. How does it feel?" Jason asked.

"Ok, I guess. Why do you ask?" Troy asked.

"Nothing, it's just that I have this cousin who at one time found out that she's pregnant and then her husband at first was happy but as she entered her third trimester, her husband got scared," Jason explained.

"Why did her husband get scared?" Troy asked.

"Well, having a baby is a big step for him. With the baby coming, he has a big responsibility now and he is forced to leave his social life for family. Don't forget the whole financial thing. With a kid, you have to have a lot of money for toys and eventually school and other stuff like that. But most of all, he's afraid that his child will grow up hating him if he doesn't provide a good living for his kid," Jason explained.

Troy remained quiet but inside he was starting to panic. He would never thought about his child hating him. What if she does? What if she noticed the bad parenting between him and Gabriella and ends up hating him for it? What if she found out that Troy and Gabriella only married because of a favour gone wrong? Will she understand or will she blame Troy for it forever?

"Troy?" Chad said as he waved his hand in front of Troy's face but to no respond.

"I think you scared him about parenthood Jase," Zeke said.

"I didn't mean to. I was just telling him a story that's all," Jason defended himself.

"I'm going to be a dad," Troy finally spoke softly but still staring off to space.

"Yeah, I think you really scared him Jason," Chad joked. "Troy, do you need another drink?"

"I'm going to be a dad to someone," Troy repeated while heavily breathing. "Oh no."

"What's wrong with being a dad to someone?" Chad asked.

"What if my own baby hates me? What if I become my own dad and forced my child to follow my footsteps? Oh, she's going to hate me," Troy said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Look, Troy, normally I would give you advice about this kind of thing but I'm not a dad and I don't have a child but it doesn't take a scientist to know that you'll do fine," Chad advised and Jason and Zeke nodded in agreement.

"That's easy for you to say. All of you aren't married and don't have a family," Troy said.

"And thank god for that. I can't imagine being in your situation right now," Zeke commented. He received a punch in the arm for his comment by Chad.

Troy went home early that night and threw his keys on the coffee table and head out to the balcony to do some thinking. He's still in shock about the whole parenting thing. He's worried he'll win the worst parent award because he failed as a parent and as a good husband. Jason was right, being a father is a huge step for him. A major huge step.

"Troy? Are you home?" Gabriella called from the house.

Hearing Gabriella's voice made Troy relaxed a little. "Yeah, I'm at the balcony," he replied.

"Oh," Gabriella said as she walked to the balcony. "What are you doing out here? I made dinner. Well I ordered dinner actually. I had an appetite for chicken."

"I'm not that hungry," Troy said.

"Are you sure? I ordered chickens to share. I know you like chicken," Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled, "I'll eat later."

Gabriella could tell something was bothering Troy, "Are you ok?" she asked.

Troy didn't know what to answer. He didn't want to lie but he didn't want to tell Gabriella the truth. Instead of answering her, he turned back to the view. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked again while standing next to him.

Troy shook his head, "No. You didn't do anything. I did," he said.

"What are talking about?" Gabriella asked.

"Don't you get scared by the thought of you becoming a parent in three months?" Troy asked.

"What? Why did you ask that? Are you scared?"

Troy sighed, "Yeah. I'm scared. But mostly, I'm afraid that I'll mess this up. I'm afraid that she'll grow up hating me."

"Why would she hate you?" Gabriella asked.

"Because of not being a good parent to her," Troy answered sadly.

"Troy, you're going to be fine. I know it," Gabriella encouraged.

"But what if I mess up?" Troy asked.

"Then stop believing that you will. You're going to be a great father no matter how much you mess up. My fear is that one day I have to do this all alone because you left. That's what I'm afraid of," Gabriella said honestly.

"You think I would leave you?" Troy questioned.

"I don't know. Would you leave?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at her in the eyes, "Of course not. I would never leave you to handle this all by yourself because apparently, I have a responsibility now as a father and as your husband."

Gabriella smiled at his answer, "I'm scared that I'll mess up too but that's just how it is I guess. You just have to fight it and deal with it," she said.

"What if I can't?" he asked.

"You will. Because you're not doing this alone. You'll have me and if both of us are the worst parents in the world then so be it. At least we know that we're good parents and that we love our child very much," Gabriella said.

Troy smiled at her encouragement and confidence towards her full commitment to parenthood. Maybe Gabriella's right. He can do this. With the help of Gabriella, both of them will be the best parents ever. "Thanks Gabriella and you're going to be good mother," he said. "So what did you buy while you're out shopping?"

"Oh, uh...nothing much. Just the usual stuff for babies and myself," Gabriella said.

Troy could tell she was hiding something, "So just how many of the usual stuff you bought?" he asked suspiciously.

"Uh…I'm starving. Let's go eat," she said as she pulled Troy's wrist.

Troy chuckled at Gabriella's actions. Lately, she has been buying a lot of baby stuff by herself and then storing it in the closet. She still thinks that Troy doesn't know about her constant spending.

* * *

_**So what did you think? Good, Bad, Horrible?**_

_**Anyways, I am going to be busy for two weeks of June because I have to go back to school because I didn't do well for chemistry. I will work on the next chapter every single time I can and then post it as soon as I can.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_**Here's a sneak peek!**_

"I'm moving out."

**Who do think said that?**


	30. Tell Them Or I Will

_**Sorry I have been MIA. Well I'm back now and I hope you would enjoy this chapter!**_

The sunlight shone in the room where Troy was asleep in. He regretted the day he let Gabriella choose which side of the bed he should sleep at. He tried covering the sunlight with the pillow but it was no use. He couldn't sleep anymore.

Troy then sat up and stretched comfortably. He then found that Gabriella was still asleep soundly right next to him with the pillow there still seperating the two. Troy checked the clock at the nightstand and saw the time was already half past eleven. He didn't knew he even slept that long. He also couldn't believe Gabriella isn't awake yet. Usually Gabriella always got up before Troy did so she could have breakfast. Troy thought she was probably tired from the long day they had the day before.

Yesterday, Troy and Gabriella had visited several orphanages to donate some of the stuff that didn't sell during The Bolton Charity Auction held on Christmas eve. Both of them had a really fun time while visiting all the children from the orphanages.

The best part of all, Gabriella has seen the side of Troy that she has never seen before. The side that had showed how sweet, caring and nurturing he is to the children and she could easily tell how great Troy is to children by just looking at the amount of kids running to his arms and hugging him. It was the image that melted Gabriella's heart officially. Or at least that's what Troy thinks. If warming Gabriella's heart won't make her admit that she loves Troy then he don't know what will. Gabriella is so hard to figure out at times. Maybe that is why Troy likes her.

While in his thoughts, Gabriella started to shuffle in bed. Troy sat still so he won't wake her up. Troy couldn't help but think how lucky he is to be married to Gabriella and have her have his baby. Troy then layed down to where Gabriella baby bump is and started to rub his hand on the baby. It has been a while since he last talk to the baby.

"Hey there little girl," Troy greeted. "How have you been? Have you been healthy? I can tell you're slowly starting to grow more and more and pretty soon you'll be here to officially meet mommy and daddy. Doesn't that sound just exciting?" he asked. The baby then somehow answered Troy by kicking.

"Everything have been set up for your arrival. Your bedroom is nearly finished. We just have to place everything in place for you. But I do have one problem that involves you though. What am I going to name you? Mommy decided to put me in charge of it which is probably not a good idea. She wants your name to start with the letter C but all I have is Christina, Crystal, Candace, Callie and few more but I just can't see you with all of those names I thought of. I won't have any much time to think about it because in two months you'll be born. I wish somehow you could help me think of a name. Why would mommy want you to start a C? It's the most common letter of anyone's name," Troy asked.

"Because her mommy wants something to remind her of mommy's mommy," Gabriella said, startling Troy. Gabriella smiled at his surprised look, "Good morning daddy," she greeted sarcastically.

Troy could tell the change of colour of his face. It was mega red. Gabriella looked at his face, waiting for him to respond. "So what's your excuse for talking to my baby bump?" Gabriella asked.

"I was sleeptalking?" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled at his answer, "Nice try but I heard everything."

"I'm sorry. I didn't meant to wake you up or anything," Troy apologised.

"It's cool. So do you really want to know why I want our baby's name to start with a C?" she asked. Troy nodded and she continued, "It may sound stupid and cheesy but my mother's name starts with a C and I just want something to remind me of her. It's just something I've been thinking about when I was young."

Troy thought about it. Now that Gabriella mention it, it makes perfect sense. Her mother's name is Charlotte. Quite a beautiful name. And Gabriella's idea of somehow making it a legacy thing isn't a bad idea either. "I don't think it's stupid. I think it's...smart," Troy said. "Did I wake you up with my 'sleeptalking'?" he asked.

"Kind of. Don't worry it's not just you. I'm kind of hungry anyways and I just remembered I'm eating for two," Gabriella said. Before getting up from bed, she gave Troy a kiss on his cheek. Troy was confused by her actions.

"What was that for?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shrugged casually, "I don't know. Why? You don't like it?" she asked innocently.

Gabriella eyes practically shined as she looked at Troy's face. He couldn't help but notice the fact that she was glowing with the morning sunlight. She was simply breathless even though she just woke up from bed and the fact her hair is in a complete mess.

"No, no, I don't mind it at all. It just seemed so random, you know," Troy answered.

"Really?" Gabriella asked. "Then I guess you won't mind if I just so happen to kiss you randomly right?"

This time Troy was seriously confused, "Gabriella, what are you talking about?"

Gabriella only answered him with a smirk and started to lean in close to Troy and eventually kissing his lips. Troy was of course shocked with her actions but did nothing to stop her. And why would he? He have been tempting to kiss her again since forever! The kiss is so intense, it was almost too good to be true. While his lips are still touching Gabriella's, he started thinking, why would Gabriella randomly want to kiss Troy after getting up from bed?

Suddenly, there was an annoying sound of ringtone interrupting their kiss. Troy looked at his nightstand and he couldn't find his phone at all. When he looked back to Gabriella, she was gone.

"Troy!" a voice said. It sounded like Gabriella but Troy couldn't find her. "TROY!" Gabriella yelled again but he still couldn't find where she was.

Back to reality, Gabriella was trying to wake Troy up because his cell phone ringing. Troy's ringtone is one of the most annoying ringtone in the world and Gabriella can't stand hearing it anymore. One thing Gabriella hated about Troy is how is a heavy sleeper. If there was a fire in the apartment, he'll be burned to death by the time he wakes up.

"Troy! Wake up!" Gabriella said as she hits Troy with a pillow.

"Hm? What? What happened?" Troy said as he got up. He opened his eyes and saw Gabriella standing in front of him. "Oh my god, Gabriella you're here. You're not gone," he said, hugging her suddenly.

Gabriella was confused, "What are you doing? I didn't go anywhere. I was just making lunch," she said.

"Lunch?" Troy asked, still not releasing Gabriella.

"Yeah, lunch. Apparently, you decided to sleep in today so you missed out the breakfast meal I ordered from McDonalds," Gabriella said, trying to get out of Troy's grip. "What did you have a nightmare or something?"

"I don't know," Troy replied.

"Well, whatever the case is, your cell phone has been ringing the same stupid ringtone for the hundredth time already. Just call back whoever it is so I can watch TV soundly," Gabriella said before leaving the room.

_I knew it was too good to be true, _Troy told himself. He checked his cell phone by his nightstand. All the missed call was from Chad and his mother. _Shocker. _He decided he didn't want to talk to anyone today. He was still tired from the long day yesterday. He laid back down and tried to take a breather. His dream is very unusual. Usually when he gets weird dreams, it's trying to tell him something. He thought about every detail of the dream.

The baby's name, Gabriella's reference for the name and their random kissing moment. Could the random kissing moment be due to the fact that Gabriella really likes Troy? He gave it a thought and realised that he knows Gabriella likes him. Could the dream be telling him that she's definately crazy for him? He hope so.

Suddenly his cell phone rang again.

"I'M DEAD SERIOUS TROY! IF YOU DON'T PICK UP YOUR PHONE, I'M GOING TO THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW!" Gabriella shouted from the living room.

"Alright! Alright! Chill out! Don't get your hormones in a twist," Troy responded before picking up his phone. "Hello?" he answered.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?" Gabriella shouted back.

"Gabriella! I am on the phone with my boss right now! Keep it down!" Troy excused.

A few minutes later, Troy appeared in the living room all dressed up. Gabriella took a moment away from the TV and looked at Troy. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"My boss called and said I had to be at work today," Troy answered.

"But it's the day after Christmas and I thought we could just watch a bunch of DVDs together and have a movie marathon," Gabriella said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know," Troy apologised.

"You know what, it's fine. You just go ahead, I'll call Sharpay and we'll have a girls movie marathon. Or in Sharpay's case, watching Notebook ten times in one day," Gabriella said.

"I really am sorry. I'll make it up to you. I promise," Troy said.

"It's cool but before you go, I want to talk to you about something important. Do you think you'll have time?" Gabriella asked.

"Sure, what's up?" he asked while sitting down on the couch next to Gabriella.

"Well, in two months, our baby is going to be born," Gabriella started.

"I know, it's unbelievable right?" Troy said.

"Yeah, majorly. Anyways, uh...do you remember my dad saying that we have to get along for the sake of the baby and just come clean about the whole marriage fiasco thing?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?" _Is she going to admit that she loves me? YES! Ok Troy, pull yourself together, you two are alone in a room and there is no place for you to get all excited, especially in front of her face. _Troy thought.

"I think it's time for you, and me, to tell your family about our secret," Gabriella said.

"Oh," _Why does she keep doing that? Why does she always give mixed signals to me? Forget that, what about the fact that she's really to tell my family about our big secret? She's right, we should tell but what if something happens?_

"So?"

"So what?" Troy asked.

"So when are we going to tell your parents?" Gabriella repeated.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that," Troy said.

"What do you mean you're not sure about that? What, you want us to lie to our baby and your parents until she's 18 years old?" Gabriella argued.

"I didn't mean that-"

"Then what did you mean? Are you saying that we should tell our baby to lie to everyone?" Gabriella debated.

"No. I meant that I'm not ready to tell them yet. It's complicated ok. I'm just afraid how they will react to our lie," Troy said.

"You mean your lie. I'm just the one who got trapped into this mess in the first place because I was such a baby to lose my damn sketchbook!" Gabriella argued.

"You don't mean that," Troy said.

"Yes I do. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be married and we wouldn't be in this mess at all and I wouldn't even talk to you again anymore," Gabriella said.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd be trapped in that dead end job of yours filing papers for the boss you hate and if it wasn't for me, you would never met my family and my mother and you wouldn't even get your very own studio in the first place so stop complaining!" Troy argued.

Gabriella glared into Troy's blue eyes challengingly. "If you don't tell them, I will."

"Or what?" Troy challenged.

Gabriella kept quiet, trying to figure out what to say next. "Or, I'm moving out," she decided.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me," Gabriella replied. "By this evening, if you won't tell your parents, I'm out, we're getting a divorce and you're not allowed in my life or our baby's life at all and don't worry about the whole lawyer thing, your family's lawyer district isn't the only one in the country. With the money I inherit from my dad, I'll make sure you won't ever enter my life ever again."

* * *

**_So what do think? Good? Bad? Not what you expected?_**

**_Leave your thoughts, PLEASE REVIEW!_**

**_Here's a sneak peek:_**

"Well if you don't like it then just leave already!"

**_A/N Is anyone here a Pretty Little Liars reader? Did anyone happen to watch the first episode that aired on Tuesday? For those who watched, it's awesome right? For those who didn't watch, you should! The show is as awesome as the book series by Sara Shepard._**

"


	31. Don't Go Part I

Troy slowly stepped into the elevator while taking a deep breath. He was nervous. That evening Troy was afraid to get home because he didn't do what he needed to do. He completely chickened out about telling his parents the truth and he could not understand why. He asked himself if he's afraid of what they would think of him but he didn't understood that either. Usually, he never cares about what his parents think of him so why is it so scared about telling them about his lie? Maybe it was because this lie is so big and it involves his whole family in the process.

They were there for him from the start of his and Gabriella's so called 'relationship'. The family meeting, the wedding and other family gatherings they had along the way. Then he thought about what Gabriella told him that morning. Did he want his family growing up to be big fat liars? Of course not. He would never want his own child lie to him so why should his child lie to anyone else? It doesn't take a genius to know that even before his baby is even born, he is being a terrible father already.

What might be the real reason he doesn't want to tell his family?

He felt like kicking himself for being such an ass to Gabriella that morning. He even felt more guilty after everything Gabriella said to him. Her distressed voice is still rememvered in his head.

_"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be married and we wouldn't be in this mess at all and I wouldn't even talk to you again anymore."_

He also remembered what he responded to her.

_"If it wasn't for me, you'd be trapped in that dead end job of yours filing papers for the boss you hate and if it wasn't for me, you would never met my family and my mother and you wouldn't even get your very own studio in the first place so stop complaining!" _

He couldn't believe he said that to her. Actually, he can. Gabriella was throwing a tantrum at him so he needed to defend himself and it's true. If it wasn't for him, all of the 'adventures' they had together wouldn't happen. They would've gotten drunk and slept together. Troy would never have fallen in love with Gabriella. They wouldn't be married and Gabriella wouldn't be pregnant with his baby. It's not like he's regretting everything that has happen to them. They were still some wonderful moments they had together.

Their wedding day for one. Gabriella looked so stunning in her wedding dress. Troy still remembered the smile she had on her face. It was plastic but at the same time real. He remembered how beautiful she looked while walking down the aisle and how she told him that she was excited about their honeymoon to Europe. Their honeymoon had to be the best trip Troy have ever been on in his life. During their time alone together, Troy had gotten the chance to really get to know Gabriella and he liked that. And lastly, there was the Christmas trip to the orphanages. Troy and Gabriella really enjoyed themselves together. He didn't want to throw all of that away.

Then he thought that was it. That was the reason why he was so afraid of telling his parents. He's afraid that his parents would get so mad that they would force him to divorce Gabriella. Divorcing Gabriella meant he might never see her again and what about their baby? Will Gabriella have full custody of their baby or will his parents force to take the baby away from Gabriella. Either way, that would be terribly awful. Gabriella would be scarred to death.

As he stepped out of the elevator, he walked to his apartment only to find a note taped to the door. He took the note and started to reading it.

_I can't believe you didn't tell your parents Troy. I thought we had a deal? Why are so afraid about telling them? I get it, you're afraid that they will disowned you. Trust me, I've been there. But they are your parents. They will love you no matter what. If you want them to trust you, you have to trust them. I don't even know what to say to you anymore. In fact, I can't even look at you anymore. I did what I promised this morning. If you don't tell them by afternoon, I'm moving out. It has been something I've been wanting to do since I got into this mess in the first place._

_You know what sucks about this entire thing? Just yesterday, I really thought that I could trust you but today you showed me otherwise. In case you're still wondering, I will divorce you and I will never ever want to see you or want you near our daughter at all. Our daughter deserves better a father than liar like you. It's nice knowing you Troy. Have a good life._

_-Gabriella_

_P.S. I did not tell your parents. You may still have a chance to prove to yourself and our baby that you are not a big fat liar._

Troy couldn't believe what he had just read. He quickly went inside the apartment searching for Gabriella. He tried calling out her name but there wasn't any respond. He checked their room and it was clean. It wasn't enough proof that Gabriella wasn't still there so he checked the closet. Unfortunately, there wasn't any clothing that belonged to her. Still in denial, he ran to the bathroom and checked the medicine closet but all that's there was a toothbrush and a toothpaste. Still not believing Gabriella left him, he desperately checked the baby nursery. Surprisingly, everything was there in place except for the crib that wasn't built which Troy promised to finsih building pretty soon.

Without hesitation, Troy grabbed his cell phone and dialed Gabriella's number. It rang for a few times and it went straightly to voicemail. He tried again a few more times but she is still ignoring his calls. Frustrated, he walked to the living room and sits on the couch that Gabriella sat on that morning. He couldn't believe it. She's gone.

* * *

_**I know this chapter is short so I hope you won't mind. This chapter is part 1 to the next chapter. I am working on part 2 right now!**_

_**I have received a review saying that I am slowly developing the relationship with Troy and Gabriella and it's getting 'boring'. I am here to confirm to you that I intended to make my story go like that because I wanted this story to be a bit different than all the other Troyella or HSM stories in fanfiction. Mostly I see stories that they fell in love at first sight or they were best friends at first then they developed their relationship through there. Not that I am offending those type of plots because I myself wrote that type of stories before. I just want this story to be different but at the same time good.**_

_**I hope that you all now understand why I made Troy and Gabriella's relationship complicated in this story because I want them to be a real couple dealing with real types of problems because I believe that not all relationships in the world are all fairytale stories. You have to go through obstacles to get a happy ending and I am doing it my way to Troy and Gabriella in this story.**_

_**Now that has all been said and done, PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_**There will no sneak peek in this chapter or the upcoming ones anymore as, sad to say, the story is about to come to an end. I hope no on gets offended by my statement. If I offend you, I deeply apologise for my actions but I just feel that I need to say what I needed to say. BYE!**_


	32. Don't Go Part II

A month has passed and Troy hasn't heard of Gabriella at all. Everyday he would call her and every time he did, she either rejected the call or she just let it go to voicemail. He never spend a minute in his life not thinking about Gabriella and what the future will hold for them. He can't help but thinking about his daughter growing up without him and wondered if Gabriella would ever forgive him for his mistake.

Although he has never seen Gabriella for a month, Troy knows she comes home whenever he's at work. Every day, there will always be something not in place. Like the pillow on the couch that suddenly turned over, the milk in the fridge keeps getting lesser every day and that the apartment will smell just like her favourite Body Shop perfume. To prove his claim, he placed all of Gabriella's mail on the coffee table and by the time he gets home, her mails are gone.

One day, he decided to skip work and stay at home to catch Gabriella whenever she comes home. He knows it may seemed desperate but what other choice does he have? She won't take his calls or messages. Troy suspected that she have been living with her old roommate, Sharpay but Troy was afraid that when he does come to their apartment, she would hate him even more.

To kill time while waiting for Gabriella to get home, Troy entered the nursery and spent the whole time finishing the decorations and putting up the crib. He know he should not bother completing the nursery but he has this feeling in his heart that Gabriella will come back to him together with their child and they will be a happy family. But at the same time he can imagine seeing his parent's dissappointed faces when he tells them about the divorce and then they will forced him to an arranged marriage with a woman which he does not love.

Troy was still in the nursery when Gabriella quietly enters the apartment and began searching for her missing item. Her sketchbook. She could not believe she lost it yet again. Every day she have been coming back to the apartment to search for it. It's a good thing she remembers Troy's working schedule. Whenever Troy's away at work, Gabriella quietly comes back to the apartment and leaves on time before Troy comes home from work. Although Troy have been contacting Gabriella, letting her know that he knows that she have been coming back to the apartment, Gabriella chose to ignore him. She doesn't have time to talk to him neither does she wants to see him again.

She wished it was easier to search at the lower part of the shelves. With her 8 month pregnant belly, it made her search difficult.

"Looking for something?" Gabriella's heart completely stopped when she heard a familiar voice. She turned around and right there stood Troy, smirking while holding up her sketchbook. "You know, you keep on losing this. Maybe you should put a leesh on it so you won't have to search for it anymore."

Gabriella didn't know what to respond so she just walked up to him and tried to take her book back but Troy held it up high enough so that she couldn't reach it. "You don't really think I would give this to you right away, do you?" he asked.

"Just give me the book back Troy," Gabriella said.

"So we're doing this again are we?" Troy replied.

"Doing what? What are you talking about?" Gabriella asked, knowing what the answer is.

"Come on, you can't seriously forgot how we met the second time do you?" Troy asked.

"What, you're going to make us reenact the scene? Well fat chance," Gabriella responded.

"Not exactly reenact. This time it will base loosely on it. Just like the in movies. I will only give this back to you if you talk to me," Troy said.

"Hello? What do you think we're doing now? We're not exactly dancing now," Gabriella replied.

"You know what I mean," Troy said, this time looking serious. "Let's just talk for a while. Please."

"No. I have nothing to say to you anymore Troy. I am done. Done with this lie and you," Gabriella said.

"Look, just let me tell you something important," Troy pleaded.

"Tell me what? That you're a chicken who's afraid to tell the truth. Well _pinocchio_, one day, your parents will just see how long that nose of yours is and pretty soon, you'll be turn to a donkey," Gabriella spatted.

Troy is about the lose his temper but he took a deep breath to control it, "Would you just let me tell you something without you being a brat?"

Gabriella gave him an unbelivable look, "Oh I'm the brat? Well at least I didn't grow up with a golden spoon in my mouth. At least I learn how to obey my parents unlike you. You think you're the rebel of your family don't you? You can do whatever you want, whenever you want and you think it doesn't affect your parents. Well news flash, they are affected by it. I can relate to how your father feels about you not becoming a lawyer. You're just a big dissappointed to your family. Oh I pity your friends who has to put up listening to you complain about your parents."

"You wish you were one and trust me, I'm not the big dissappointment here," Troy fought back. "At least I didn't grow up depending on daddy's bank account until I don't know what to do in my life and only started decided what to do at the last minute. At least I didn't trap myself in a dead end job. At least I did not regret not listening to my father and see him die."

Gabriella responded to him by pushing his chest angrily, "Don't bring up my father into this!" she shouted as tears started to form in her eyes. "And don't act like you know me because you don't. You act like you do but you just don't. You don't know how I really feel about the whole marriage thing. You don't know how I really feel about this pregnancy. You didn't even give me a say to anything because everything has to go according to you."

Troy thought about what she said. She was right. He never asked Gabriella about what she feels throughout the whole fake being marriage thing. Troy has been controlling her and telling her what to do and what not to do. "I'm sorry."

"For what? It's too late for apologies. I'm filing the divorce papers tomorrow," Gabriella said.

"So you're just going to leave like that? Now you're not giving me a say to this," Troy said.

"What more can you say to this? You did the first half of decision of our marriage and now it's my turn," Gabriella replied.

"But don't you want to the three of us to be a family? What about our baby? Does she gets a say to this?" Troy tried.

"Don't bring _my_ baby up to this," Gabriella warned.

"She's _our_ baby Gabriella. _We_ conceived this baby together. What if she does have something to say to this," Troy responded.

Gabriella ignored his response and took a deep breath, "What are you trying to do to me Troy?" she asked.

"I'm not going to sign divorce papers Gabriella. I don't want us to end," Troy replied.

"Why? So you can trap me again in all this lie?" Gabriella asked.

"Of course not-"

"Then we're done," Gabriella declared. "You can keep the book. I'm sure you can tell you mom that I'm giving the studio back," she said while walking away.

Troy knew this argument is going nowhere. He grabbed Gabriella by her wrist, "Gabriella please, don't go," he pleaded.

"What is there left for me Troy? Nothing. Nothing is coming out of this. Please, just leave me alone. The more I look at you, the more I am regretting everything that has happened to me for the past few months," Gabriella said.

"I don't believe that. I know you don't regret anything that has happened," Troy said, still holding onto Gabriella's wrist.

Gabriella tried to release from Troy's grip but failed, "Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"Stop trying to make me change my mind. It won't work. I made up my mind. I want a divorce! I want you out of the baby's life! I want you out of my life!" Gabriella shouted as she released herself out of Troy's grip but suddenly she stopped as she felt a stinging pain in her stomach.

"Are you ok?" Troy asked concernly.

"...yeah..." Gabriella said as she put her hand on her belly but her face showed her pain expression.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked again as he hold onto her arm. Gabriella then hissed in pain as she clenched onto Troy's hand. "You're not ok. We have to get you to the hospital. You might be in labour."

"No! I'm not. It's just...a false alarm," Gabriella said.

"How do you know that? Your water just broke," Troy pointed out.

Gabriella checked her legs. Troy was right. Her water did broke. She was literally having a panic attack right now. She could not move at all. "B-b-but I can't be in labor. I'm not 9 months yet. I'm not ready. I'm not prepared for this."

"I know you're not but let's just get to the hospital right now ok? You're going to be fine," Troy encouraged as he grabbed his wallet and keys.

"What if the baby isn't fine?" Gabriella asked while tears and dropping from her eyes.

"You'll both be fine. Come on," Troy said while leading Gabriella to the door.

"Wait," Gabriella said. Troy turned back to look at her and all she did was walked up to him and kissed him softly on his lips. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes, "Let's go," she whispered softly.

"Yeah," was all Troy could say. He didn't know what is going to happen next but he hoped it's nothing ugly.

* * *

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**_And thanks for all the reviews yesterday. :)_**


	33. Here's The Truth

It has been half and hour since Troy and Gabriella had arrived in the hospital. After the nurses put Gabriella in her room, Gabriella forcefully instructed Troy to stay at the waiting room and he did as she told. To be honest, Troy have never been so nervous in his life and he didn't even know what's more to be afraid of. Having something to be wrong with the baby or Gabriella.

He looked around the waiting room enviously as he watched couples happily talking to each other. Unfortunately happiness was one thing that doesn't exactly happen in his marriage with Gabriella. He needed to fix all of this. Troy took out his cell phone and was about the dial a number when a nurse came up to him.

"Uh, excuse me, are you Mr. Troy Bolton?" the nurse said with a weird accent in Troy's opinion.

"Yeah," Troy answered her slowly.

"Your wife's contractions has stopped a little. You can go in and see her now. She's in room 162," the nurse said.

"But she told me to stay here," Troy responded.

The nurse just smiled, "Trust me, she wants to see you." The nurse then walked away.

Troy hesitated to listen to the nurse and get yelled at or just listen to Gabriella and stay alive. Without even thinking, he stand on his feet and walked to Gabriella's door.

Inside room 162, Gabriella was all alone and in pain. Just as the nurse left, her contractions started again. It felt as if the baby had a knife inside her. She wondered if it was a good idea not letting Troy in. She didn't even know why she told Troy to stay out. Suddenly, there was someone opening her door.

"What do you want?" Gabriella said as she saw Troy at the door.

"I just thought you needed some company," Troy replied.

"Well I don't need one," Gabriella spatted.

"Yes you do," Troy insisted.

"No I don't. Now get out," Gabriella said as her contraction hits her.

Troy sighed in frustration, "You know, I don't get you. You are just so impossible to figure out."

"What's not to get about me? I'm easy to figure out," Gabriella debated.

Troy scoffs and rolled his eyes, "Yeah right."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Gabriella debated.

"Fine, I'll just say it. For the past few months, all you did to me was giving me all this mixed signals," Troy told her.

"Mixed signals about what?" Gabriella said obliviously.

"Mixed signals about us. One moment you look like you like me and then the next you'll insult me or scold me for something I didn't do or even for no reason at all. Like that time when we were in your dad's apartment. One minute you were kissing me and when we got back, you told me to just forget about it. What are you trying to do to me?" Troy asked desperately.

Gabriella kept quiet and stared at the wall, "I didn't think you were so into it," she said quietly.

"And just now when we were about to leave the house, you kissed me and now you're acting as if it never happened. What is that about?" Troy asked again.

"Why are you so hung up about this? You got some problems too you know," Gabriella said.

"Don't try to make this conversation about me. I want to talk about you. What do you want from me? Just tell me and I'll keep my mouth shut after that," Troy said.

"I want you to tell the truth. I hate lying to your parents and do you want to know why? Because I am starting to accept them as my own parents. Your mother is the kind of mother that has been missing in my life for years. Even though she's nosy and whatever, she is still consistent to make our marriage work. And your dad. I mean, stop hating him already. He loves you and you're just pushing him away. Why else do you think he's so upset with you? All I see you do with your parents is nothing but complain about them. How involved they are. How persistent they are. How forceful they are. They are only doing it because they want to help you," Gabriella told him. "All you need to do is just be a son to them. That is all they are asking from you. How are you going to be a good father if you're not respecting your own?" she added.

Troy looked down feeling embarassed. This was coming from someone he knew less than a year. But she was right. Troy have been pushing his parents away from his life ever since he got the chance to leave for college. His mother was always calling him every week during college and his dad had always wanted what's the best for him. "I never thought about it that way," he replied.

"Of course you didn't," Gabriella responded. "You have to make things right Troy. For your parents."

"Well what about you?"

Gabriella ignored his question and sighed, "I want you to leave right now Troy."

"What?"

"I want you to leave," she repeated. "Come back only when you make everything right," she said before having another contraction. "Just go!"

Troy obeyed her orders and left the room. She was right again. He have to make things right.

About twenty minutes later, Troy arrived at his parent's house. He took a deep breath as he rang the doorbell. He took another deep breath before someone opened the door.

"Troy? What are you doing here?" his mother asked as she answered the door.

"I need to talk to you about something. Where's dad?" Troy asked.

"You want to talk to your father?" Mrs Bolton asked with a surprised tone.

"Yeah. It's kind of important," Troy explained.

"Alright, come in," Mrs Bolton said.

A few minutes later, Troy, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton were all in the living room waiting to hear what Troy has got to say. Troy admits he was nervous more than ever. What if his parents don't understand? What if they asked him to leave Gabriella?

"Troy? What is it did you want to tell us?" Mrs. Bolton asked his son nicely.

Troy sighed, "What I am about to say might be...shocking and you guys are probably going to be mad or whatever but just hear me out ok?"

"Troy just tell us," Mr. Bolton said impatiently.

"Ok," Troy took a deep breath. "I have been lying to you all this time."

"I knew it! I know he's was just playing when he said he didn't want to be a lawyer. I told you Lucille," Mr. Bolton said.

"Jack, I'm confident that Troy is not talking about his big career move. Now let him finish," Mrs. Bolton responded. "I'm sorry Troy. Continue."

Troy nodded and continued, "I have been lying to you about Gabriella and our whole marriage is just a fake."

"What do you mean you're whole marriage is just a fake? I even framed your marriage certificate," Mrs. Bolton said.

"Troy please explain this to us clearly," Mr. Bolton insisted.

"When you guys first tell me that you were going to force me into marriage, I panicked about it so I lied to you that I was dating to someone to avoid it. So that's where Gabriella comes in. When I brought her here to meet you guys, I didn't think that you'd actually like her so much until you asked me to propose to her," Troy explained.

"How did you get Gabriella to lie for you?" Mrs. Bolton asked while Mr. Bolton kept quiet.

"I made her do this favor for me in return I give her back her design sketchbook that she accidently left behind when we first met. I made her marry me and promised her that if she keep helping me to lie to you, I'll do her anything she wants and she did," Troy answered.

"So all this time we thought you finallu found someone to settle down with, you were just lying? But the baby...how?"

"That's another story actually. One night, we got drunk and we slept together and we didn't use protection but we made a pact to stay together for the sake of you guys and the baby," Troy explained.

"Did Gabriella's father know about this?" Mr. Bolton asked angrily.

"Yes," Troy answered, ashamed.

"And you made him not tell us too?"

"No, I swear, he insisted not to tell you guys because he wanted our marriage to work. In fact, before he past away, he have been trying to make Gabriella and I together," he answered.

"Do you even love Gabriella?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

Troy looked at his mother sincerely, "Yes, I do. This is can't lie. I love her. And she loves you guys too. She said that you two are the parents that she needed in her life now that her father is gone."

"And we love Gabriella as well but does she love you?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

"That I'm not sure. We're having a very complicated relationship recently. You don't want to get into it," Troy said.

"Well Troy, I would be lying if I told you that we are not dissapointed in you," Mrs. Bolton said.

"I know and I don't blame you," Troy replied. "But can we continue this another time? Gabriella is in labor right now and I need to get going."

"What? She's in labor?" Mrs. Bolton inquired.

"Yeah, didn't I just said that?"

"Troy, you shouldn't be here in the first place. What is the matter with you boy?" Mrs. Bolton scolded.

"I just needed to tell you this so it won't get worse," Troy responded.

"We'll talk about this as soon as the baby is delivered. Call us after Gabriella gives birth, got it?"

"Yes mom," Troy said as he prepares to leave the house. Before running out of the living room, he stopped and turned back to his parents. "Thanks for listening to me. And just so you know, you guys did nothing bad raising me at all. It's all on me. I haven't been a good son to you guys so...I'm sorry."

Mrs. Bolton just smiled, "Just go."

* * *

_**Ok, I wrote this chapter in a hurry so I'm sorry if there's some mistake.**_

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	34. Remember This Forever

Gabriella took a deep breath as she got yet another contraction. She put her hand on her back while walking around the room. The nurse said if she wants to induce labor, walking helps and the wasn't kidding. Her contraction is getting more closer and more painful by the minute.

_Maybe I should stop inducing labor for a while. _Gabriella told herself. She slowly walked back to her bed but suddenly she got a big painful contraction. The pain was so unbearable that she could barely stand on her feet. She tried to breathe through the pain but it was no use. Her contraction were just too painful. Suddenly, Gabriella felt someone grabbing her hand from behind.

"It's ok, I got you. Just breathe." It was Troy. Somehow hearing Troy's voice made the pain go away. Gabriella then relaxed her body to Troy. "Thanks," she said.

"You shouldn't be walking around. You could've slipped and fall in between your contractions," Troy instructed Gabriella while helping her getting up to her bed.

Gabriella ignored his words and sat still, "Did you do it?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

"What did they say?" Gabriella wanted to know.

Troy just shrugged, "They haven't decided how they feel about it," he said while getting Gabriella's hair out of her face but Gabriella pushed his hand away.

"That doesn't change anything," Gabriella declared.

Troy looked at her in disbelief, "What more do want from me? I did everything you told me. Tell me what did I do wrong."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Gabriella replied.

"Then why are you so angry at me?" Troy asked.

"Why are so hung up on this? Why are you always on my back about this?" Gabriella asked him asked back.

"Oh you really want to know why?"

"Yes," Gabriella replied.

"Because I love you," Troy admitted. Gabriella looked at him shockingly, not believing those words just got out of his mouth. "I love you. So much. I loved you when we first met but I was a jerk to even realise it. I loved you when you said you would marry me. I loved you when you walked down the aisle and said I do. I loved you when you said you were pregnant. Our first kiss we had was the best kiss I ever had in my life and I'm not just saying that. I may not remember exactly what happened during the night we slept together but I do remember how passionate it was even though we were drunk. I just...I..I just love you so much and I'm a jerk right now because I am too selfish to let you go."

Gabriella looked at Troy emotionlessly, "Why didn't tell me before?" she asked.

"I don't know," Troy answered softly. "But I do know that I don't want to us to end. I don't care what you say but I don't want to let you go. I'll fight for you Gabriella. I'll fight for you and our baby. I don't care if you even put a restraining order against me. I'll find a way to be with you. The question is, are you willing to give me the chance."

Gabriella stared into Troy's blue eyes. She could tell how serious he was about what he just said. Should she give Troy another chance to prove himself? Before she knows it, she started to slowly leaned into Troy. Their lips were just about to touch when Gabriella pulled back when she got a painful contraction.

"Ow," Gabriella said as she felt the pain. Troy quickly held her hand and let her squeeze it as the contraction kept on going. "Wow that was a big one. When is this going to end?" Gabriella said desperately while resting her head on the pillow.

"Well that depends, last time they checked, how far were you?" Troy asked.

"I was 7cm and that was like an hour ago," Gabriella answered.

"Maybe they should check up on you again," Troy suggested.

"Do I look like a telephone to you? Call the doctor then," Gabriella spat.

After Troy called for a doctor, she came in not a moment later and check on Gabriella. Turns out Gabriella was already 9cm and she was moving fast so the doctor suggested to start prepping her for delivery. Gabriella was of course becoming more scared as she knows that the hard part is about to come but with Troy by her side, she can relax a little.

Almost an hour later, Gabriella was already in labor and started to push. Even though she hasn't gave birth in her life before, she already hates it big time. The worst part is, nothing is happening. She have been pushing for five minutes and nothing much has happened except she's been crowning. That was still not good enough.

Troy was beside her, supporting her at every push Gabriella does. All Gabriella did to his encouragement was squeezing his hand more and more harder. Troy could have swore he has lost a feeling in his right hand.

"Gabriella, you're squeezing my hand a little hard here," Troy said.

"A little hard? You want to know what hurts the most?" Gabriella asked him.

"Giving birth?"

"No, giving birth to your baby!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Alright, sorry. My bad."

"Doctor, is there any chance for me to kill Troy before I can give birth?" Gabriella asked sarcastically in reponse to Troy's sarcasm.

"I'm sorry. No. Anyways, your baby is still crowning. You can start pushing went your next contraction comes," the doctor instructed.

Gabriella whined but managed to take orders and started to pushing while clinging onto Troy's hand. When she got tired, she rested her head on the pillow.

"Alright Gabriella, by the next contraction, give a one big push and you're done," the doctor said.

Gabriella pushed for a few more minutes and very soon the baby slipped out of Gabriella and a cry filled up the room. Troy, who have been looking at the baby the entire time Gabriella was pushing suddenly felt dizzy at the sight of his daughter but at the same time he was too estatic to faint.

"Oh my gosh! She's here," Troy said as the nurse started to clean up the baby.

Gabriella smiled at him then faced the doctor, "Is she ok? Did my early labor affect her at all?" she asked.

"Not at all, she's perfectly healthy. Would daddy like to meet his baby girl?," the nurse answered as she handed Troy their baby in a pink blanket. The nurse didn't even have to ask. Troy was happy to hold his daughter. Troy got a good look at his daughter. She looked so precious with her eyes close and as she started to whimper and fidget.

"Hey there little girl. Do you recognise me? I'm daddy," Troy said. As soon as he mentioned it, his daughter started to move closer to his chest, as if knowing that she's safe. Troy smiled and kissed her forehead softly. "Do you want to meet mommy? She's very excited to see you."

Without hesitation, Gabriella welcomed her daughter from Troy's hands. She smiled at her newborn as tears began to form in her eyes. "She's so beautiful," she said as Troy wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah she is," Troy agreed as he kissed Gabriella's forehead.

"So do we have a name for baby Bolton?" the doctor asked.

Gabriella turned to Troy waiting for his answer. "Are you sure you want me to name her?" Troy asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Gabriella said.

Troy smiled at her and faced the doctor, "We're naming her Charlotte. Charlie for short," he announced. Gabriella looked at Troy. Charlotte was her mother's name. What makes him to name their baby after her mother?

"Middle name?" the doctor inquired.

Troy turned to Gabriella, "You did all the work, you can give her a middle name."

Gabriella smiled at him and thought about it, "How about...Lucille for the middle name? Charlotte Lucille Bolton. Charlie Bolton for short."

"That's a great name," Troy agreed and stared at Gabriella, falling in love with her all over again.

After the doctors took down the name, Gabriella faced Troy, "By the way," she said, "I love you too."

Troy smiled at her. He have never been so relived to hear those words coming out from her mouth. He leaned in to her lips and kissed her softly and passionately. This time, he had to admit, is the best kiss they had because this kiss is filled with passion and real love. Like always, Gabriella pulled back and smiled at him but then she looked down at their newborn daughter.

This is the moment that Troy would remember in his life and he's pretty sure Gabriella will remember it too.

* * *

_**YAY! They are finally together! Or aren't they? Don't worry there's a few more chapters left.**_

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	35. Together

It was early in the morning and Gabriella was sleeping soundly at her bed while Troy was up and cradling his new baby girl, Charlie, in his arms while he whispers to her softly.

"I still can't believe you're here. It feels like only yesterday that I was talking to you while you were mommy's tummy," Troy said, while staring at Charlie who is sleeping. "I have to hand it to you, if it wasn't for you, I don't think I would have the courage to tell everyone the real truth about everything. The truth about what you ask? Well, I don't think I could tell you now but I'll tell you when you're older and I hope you understand."

Charlie soon start to coo in Troy's arm somehow trying to talk to him. Troy smiled at her adoringly, "You are the most adorable little baby ever aren't you? I'm sorry you had to hear all of our fights. You had your last straw during our last fight didn't you? I'm sorry. We're sorry but I promise, we'll try not to fight in front of you anymore. Mommy and I will work it out whatever it takes to raise you well."

Troy couldn't help but notice the light brown hair on her head. It was just like his. He thinks it's safe to say that Charlie pretty much inherit his features. He wonders what colour her eyes would be. "I think I'm talking too much about myself right? Well, I'll tell you something about mommy. Well, she's a very beautiful woman and she likes to make wedding dresses. But recently, she have been making baby clothes for you. She thinks I didn't know about it but mommy can't keep secrets from me," Troy said while kissing Charlie's forehead for the hundredth time since he held her.

Suddenly Gabriella started stirring in her bed and she soon woke up from her sleep and looked at Troy. "Hey," she said with a smile.

"Hey yourself," Troy replied. He started to walk to Gabriella and handed Charlie to her. "I think Charlie misses mommy."

Gabriella smiled, "Did she? Hello Charlie. How are you?" she asked her little girl. Charlie responded by cooing in Gabriella comfortably.

"She's amazing. I can't believe she's ours," Gabriella said, not taking her eyes away from Charlie.

"I know. Me neither," Troy responded.

"She has your hair colour. I wonder what her eyes look like," Gabriella wondered while looking at Troy.

Troy chuckled and answered, "I think she's has your eyes."

Gabriella cringed at his answer, "Why makes you think so?"

"Take a look for yourself," Troy said while gesturing to Charlie who had been opening her eyes while Gabriella looked away. Gabriella stared in awed as she looks in her daughter's eyes that matched hers perfectly. Troy held his finger to Charlie and she held his finger tightly while looking at her parents.

"Those are some big brown eyes," Troy commented.

"Those are my dad's eyes. I got it from him," Gabriella said.

"Well they're perfect," Troy replied and kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"What do think your parents will say about us?" Gabriella asked.

Troy sighed at her question, "I don't know. But whatever they say, just know that I love you and Charlie."

Gabriella smiled, "I love you too. And by the way, I lied too."

"Lied about what?"

"I didn't actually plan to file in the divorce papers. I didn't know how to file divorce papers in the first place," Gabriella said, chuckled. "I just wasn't myself."

"I get it. You were being your hormonal self," Troy said.

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed.

"Let's just try not to fight anymore. At least not for the smallest of things."

Gabriella nodded in agreement, "I just wish my father was here. He would've loved to meet Charlie," she said.

"He's here. Somehow. You know he's watching over you," Troy responded.

Gabriella giggled, "Wow, cheesy much?"

"Well, would you prefer cheesy me or corny me?" Troy asked.

"Can I pick neither?" Gabriella teased.

"That wouldn't be a fair game," Troy debated.

Before Gabriella could respond, Charlie started to whimper in Gabriella's arms and soon she started to cry. Gabriella tried to calm her down, "I think she's hungry," Gabriella said.

Troy quickly grabbed the baby bottle by the side table, which the nurse had placed when she brought Charlie, "Here's her bottle," Troy said while handing Gabriella the bottle.

Gabriella slowly inserted the bottle to Charlie's mouth and Charlie soon calmed down. "That was a relief. Something tells me this is only part one of being a parent," Troy commented.

Gabriella giggled, "Maybe we should ask your mother for a parenting book now. We're going to need it."

That afternoon, Troy and Gabriella were left in the room having a conversation with one another when they heard someone knocking on the door.

"Knock knock," the person greeted.

Troy turned and realised it was his parents greeting them with a basket of baby stuff. "Mom! Dad! You're here," Troy said while hugging his mother.

"Of course we're here. What kind of grandparents we'll be by not coming to see our grandchild?" Lucille said.

"I wished you called first. Our baby isn't here right now. She's in the nursery," Troy said.

"She?"

"Yeah, it's a girl," Gabriella answered.

"A girl? Wow," Jack commented while Mrs. Bolton squealed in excitment while hugging Troy.

Gabriella got worried by Jack's comment, "Why? What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's great. It's just that, for seven generations, there's never been a girl in the Bolton clan," Jack said.

"Really?" Troy asked.

"Yep. Looks like Bolton men do carry the Y chromosones too huh?" Jack joked while they laughed. Suddenly, a nurse walked into the room while holding baby Charlie in her hand.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I think your baby would like to meet the rest of her family. You must be the grandparents," the nurse said to the Jack and Lucille. "Would you like to hold your new granddaughter?" the nurse asked Jack.

"Me?" Jack was stunned by the nurse's question. He have never held a baby in ages. He hesitated but by the sight of his granddaugter made him dare to hold her. "Sure. Why not." With that, the nurse slowly passed Charlie to Jack and left the room to the Boltons.

"Wow, she's so tiny isn't she?" Jack commented.

"Yes she is! She's so adorable! Oh, what's her name?" Lucille asked while still playing with her granddaughter.

Troy and Gabriella smiled at each other before they announced, "Troy decided to name her after my mother Charlotte. But we call her Charlie for short," Gabriella started.

"Why call her Charlie? I love the name Charlotte. I don't care, I'm calling her Charlotte," Lucille said and made Troy and Gabriella chuckle.

"What about the middle name?" Jack asked.

"Well, Gabriella decided that since mom played a huge part during the first few months of her pregnancy, we decided that her middle name is Lucille," Troy said.

Lucille stared at Troy and Gabriella, "Aw, you two didn't have to do that."

"It's no big deal mom. Really. We're happy to be naming her after you," Troy said.

"I'm honored," Lucille said and faced Charlie. "Hello Charlotte. Welcome to the world."

"This is great but we should really tell Troy and Gabriella what they need to know," Jack said to his wife.

"You're right," Lucille said.

"Tell us what?" Troy asked while Jack passed Charlie to Gabriella.

"Well, we've thought about the truth you said about us yesterday. We're very dissappointed in you Troy," Jack started.

"I know," Troy said.

"And because of that, we have decided to divorce your marriage to Gabriella," Lucille continued.

"What? You can do that?" Troy asked, panickly.

"Yes."

"Does that mean Troy and I have to be separated?" Gabriella asked as she held on Charlie close to her. "What about Charlie?"

Jack and Lucille looked at each other, "No that doesn't neccessarily mean you two have to be apart from each other or Charlie," Lucille assured Gabriella.

"We're just divorcing the both of you so that you two can work out your relationship properly first and then when you're really ready, you can get married anytime you want after you're really settled with one another," Jack said.

"What about the Bolton tradition?" Troy asked.

"I guess we can overlook this just this once but don't expect the same treatment from any other Bolton. Especially Charlie," Jack said.

"I guess that's fair. Thanks," Troy thanked his parents.

"Wait, do I have to give the Bolton ring back?" Gabriella asked.

Jack and Lucille looked at each other and nodded, "Keep it. You're going to need it someday."

* * *

_**So what do you think? Sorry for the wait.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_**BTW, I made a new story, well not really story more like random oneshots called A Day In Life of Troy Bolton. It's basically about Troy's life and stuff so please R&R.**_

_**Also, I have read this story: **_**Stuck in a Fairytale**_** by **_**xojokubauskasx3 _and it's really good. I swear. If you like modern versions of fairytales, you'll like this one. It has a mixture of Cinderella and Rapunzul. It's really good and I think the story deserves more reviews. So do me a favor and read it please._**


	36. Author's Note!

_**Author's Note**_

I know you are all anxiously waiting for the next and final chapter to Forced To Be Wed. To be honest I have been having some problems to write out the chapter so I have decided to take this oppurtunity to let you guys help me write out the first few paragraphs for the conclusion to the story. That's right, one or two of you guys will get chosen to be partnered up to write a chapter with me. I think this is a great idea because all of you guys have been here for me through every single chapter and I think this is a good way for me to thank you guys and to reward you this way. I know it's a weird way to reward you but I really do need some help to start.

So if you have an idea to of how to end the relationship between Troy and Gabriella, PM me or email me as many paragraphs as you can think of and I will take it from there. If you're planning to email me your paragrahs, here is my email: msdreams1994 at yahoo .com .sg (the at part is referring to the normal email "AT" symbol)

Please do help me out here because I really need it.

-pinkwildcat94

P.S I have a new story called A Day In Life Of Troy Bolton and it's where I put a series of random oneshots of Troy's life. It's something that I've always wanted to try so please read and review it. Also, after I write out the last chapter of Forced To Be Wed, I have decided to be on hiatus for the meantime because I want to focus on my upcoming major important exams in September which is like 2 months away and I am way stressed out right now. I hope you understand and I will be back right around October. Hope you understand!


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